


With a little bit of Luck

by LillithMiles



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, EMT Ian Gallagher, M/M, Mechanic Mickey Milkovich, POV Alternating, Season/Series 09 Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-24
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2020-10-27 03:44:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 22,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20753801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LillithMiles/pseuds/LillithMiles
Summary: Ian Gallagher is a leprechaun with a huge problem: he just lost his special coin, the one that is the embodiment of his powers and the source of his luck. He needs to find it soon because nothing good ever came for a leprechaun after losing their coin.Well, until now.





	1. I - Misfortune

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, Gallavich fam! Long time, no see! *waves*  
This was heavily inspired by the character Mad Sweeney from American Gods (a show I desperately need to catch up on). I was even going to quote the "With panache" line but it didn't fit Ian (because he absolutely has no chill and I make a great use of this in here). 
> 
> This fic follows canon in certain events, specially season nine, hence the 'spoilers tag' but it's divergent enough for it not to be a problem in case you haven't watched. 
> 
> I didn't explore much of the leprechaun/fairy folk mythology, it's more of a background because my main goal was to write Ian stumbling (literally) his way into Mickey's heart. 
> 
> As usual, this fic is unbetaed and English isn't my first language. I've proof read it enough times but something always gets away. 
> 
> And that's it for notes! Enjoy! =)

**I - Misfortune**

It starts innocently enough: he trips on the front porch. It's weird. Ian doesn't remember tripping not even once in his life, but here he is, holding himself against the wall, confused and shaken. Tripping is scary, he decides. Your foot gets caught on nothing and suddenly you're on your way to the nearest surface, face first. It's not something he would like to go through again, Ian thinks, as he straightens himself up and finally walks into his house. Soon, he gets sucked in the latest Gallagher drama (another lover’s quarrel; this time, involving Debbie, Carl and Carl's girlfriend, Kelly. How weird.) that is being discussed in the kitchen and forgets all about the event. 

Two days later, he's again in the kitchen. It's early morning and he's about to go on a run. If he can make the coffee maker work, that is. It's an old machine, like everything else in the house. Being able to easily take infinite gold coins from a magical vault in another dimension doesn't really equal wealth, not when it can attract unwanted attention of hunters or just really greedy and unscrupulous humans. You can't stroll into a store and pay for stuff with ancient looking gold coins, that's not how it works. No, you have to pawn the coins to get money and then you can pay for stuff, using the dollars. But too many coins would make people suspicious, so you have to bring a little at time and always avoid going to the same pawnshop more than twice (there's only a handful of times people will believe that you inherited a huge collection of old gold coins from a great-grandfather or some shit). 

Now, Ian wishes he could buy a new coffee maker with his leprechaun gold. Hell, half a coin would probably pay for one better than this one. He slaps it lightly, trying to coax it back to life, to no avail. Sighing, he resigns to eat the toasts with orange juice instead when he sees Liam walking in. 

“Good morning, Ian.”, said his youngest brother sitting heavily on one of the chairs. 

“‘Morning, buddy! What are you doing up so early?”. He pours himself and Liam a cup of juice and starts preparing more toasts. 

“Still owing Debbie money. I'll have to look for a job or she'll lock me out of the house. Again.” 

Ian chuckles at that. It was a fucked up situation that their sister would lock them all out of their house if they didn't pay her back the money she spent on the house bills. But that is the way of their kind: don't fuck with a Leprechaun’s money. Mess with their heads, their hearts, hell, try your luck with their family even, but never, never, take their money. And, yes, it wasn't like they had stole anything from Debbie, but if she felt like they owed her, paying up was for the best. It would avoid a whole new set of trouble. 

“How much you have to pay?”

“Still owe her like 30 dollars.”, Liam answers, drinking his juice and accepting the plate with toasts. Ian passes him a jar of peanut butter and reaches into his pocket, fishing out his wallet. He counts the money and gives it to his brother.

“Just give it to her at the end of the day.” He winks at Liam, who takes the money with a smile. 

“Thank you, Ian! I'll pay you back, promise.”

“Take your time, bud.”

Liam nods. Owing Ian would be way easier than Debbie, if only because he wasn't as bloodthirsty as her. Ian wouldn't forget and eventually, if Liam took too long to pay, he'd start being vocal about it, but nothing as drastic as locking him out at night as Debbie had done. It was their nature, after all.

But for now, he's safe. So he smiles and eats his toasts and drinks his juice, just enjoying the (rare) peace of the early summer morning. He frowns at little when he notices Ian is not drinking coffee as usual. Liam, being the youngest sibling and still years away of being considered an Adult™ by the family and their neighborhood standards, still sticks to OJ in the mornings. He sips coffee every now and then, but it's not really his thing. Just like alcohol, which seems to be a family favorite, since everyone drinks. Maybe it's because he's still a child that he doesn't understand the appeal, maybe that's just another thing that sets him apart from his siblings, who knows? It's not really important. 

But changes like that bother him, so he asks. “Skipping coffee today?”

Ian shrugs. “Coffee maker decided to not work today.”

“Really? Stopped for good?” He gets up and pokes it, hoping it isn't true. Debbie, with her volatile moods, can't stand the threat of not having coffee in the morning. To his and his brother’s surprise, coffee starts dripping instantly. 

“Woah, look at this magical finger!”, says Ian, chuckling. “Guess it was just bad luck when I tried to start it.” Ian hides a smile in his cup of juice and Liam chuckles softly. It was a inner joke with leprechauns, having bad luck; not a particularly funny one, no, but funny enough to earn a tired smile, at least. 

Liam watches Ian finishing up his breakfast and washing his cup and plate. He looks at the coffee in the pot for a moment, but then checks his watch and just shrugs. He walks by Liam, kisses him in the head and goes for his morning run. 

Liam smiles. He likes that Ian is physically affectionate with him. It reminds him of when he was little and makes him feel safe, knowing someone has his back. Not that he reaches out to him or any other sibling, that's not how Gallaghers solve their problems (unless it's something huge that affects the whole family like that time he was given to drug dealers by Frank while he raised money to settle a debt or when they had to fake the death of a relative to get the house. Or worse, when they had to dig up their dead mother to get back the drugs Fiona had hid in her coffin). 

His siblings preferred method of dealing with minor, personal issues is hiding and burying their feelings and problems until it explodes out of them in shouts and angry tears. (Ian's case is a little different: he never exploded, at least not that Liam remembers. Instead, he runs and deflects and avoids the problematic subject until the others drop it as well). He's seen it enough times. Personally, he thinks it's all BS. Talking about problems help, but their siblings don't seem to get it. He goes with the flow, for now. Maybe, one day, when he's old enough to be taken seriously, he can convince them to open up more. Today, he finishes his breakfast, washes his cup and plate and sits down to watch cartoons. It's summer after all.

~+~

Ian tries to lose himself in the run, in the feeling of his feet hitting the sidewalk, the warmth of the sun on his skin, his rhythmic breathing, but there's something in the back of his mind stopping him from enjoying the exercise. He can’t really pinpoint what it is but there’s something he should be noticing that he’s not.

Despite the uneasy feeling, Ian keeps going. When he’s turning a corner, it happens again, that strike of bad luck: a guy in a motorcycle loses control of it and almost hits Ian, who’s waiting to cross the street. Thankfully the guy manages to turn the murder machine to the side somehow and let it crash against the fence of an empty lot. No one gets hurt, but Ian can’t move a single muscle, frozen in shock. This kind of thing just doesn’t happen to him, to his kind in general. Accidents, bad coincidences, he’s_ immune _ to all that. But this is the third time something bad unexpectedly happens to him. And it was a huge bad thing this time, a life-threatening thing, a thing he’s s supposed to be naturally protected against. 

He shoves his hands in his pockets, looking for it, but can’t find it. He distantly notices the people around trying to talk to him, asking if he’s okay. He blinks, hands still moving in his pockets, almost pushing his sweatpants down. He says a shaky “I’m okay, not hurt.” to a random person and turns in his heels before someone can stop him. He needs to cut the run short and go back home. Something very bad is happening to him and he needs to find out what it is.


	2. "There's Irish gold in that Ukrainian dump!"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frank shares an interesting discovery with the other Gallaghers...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's chapter 2! I'm not sure if I put it on the notes of the first chapter but this loosely follows canon events with some obvious exceptions (like Ian and Mickey not knowing each other). Unbetaed as usual. Enjoy!

When Ian gets home (he walked all the way back, paying attention to everything around them: every crack in the sidewalk, every stray dog, everyone riding a bike, every car in the street, fearing another accident. It was unnerving, how the fuck did humans do that?), he puts on his normal face. He doesn’t want to bring panic to his family. As soon he’s alone, he’ll try to reach into the vault again and grab some coins. His is probably misplaced in his room somewhere. Maybe he left in his uniform pants or among his dirty laundry. There was no reason for fear. He isn’t the first leprechaun in history to lose his magical coin. He’s going to find it, he knows that.

His family is all up when he walks through the front door (careful to not trip again). They all shout their good mornings, enjoying the hot coffee that the coffee maker refused him earlier. He answers quickly and soon is heading up, as he usually does, to take a shower and get ready for work. Or that is what he wants them to believe he’s doing. He closes his bedroom door and pulls the sheets from his bed, frantically shaking them, looking for his coin. Nothing but a sock falls from the folds. He lies on the floor, belly down, and looks under the bed but sees only dirty laundry. He starts pulling out clothes from the drawers, digging between them, shaking them out, but the result is the same. No coin anywhere.

He grabs his uniform and goes shower. Before getting into the tub, though, he quickly swipes the room, even looking behind the toilet and the sink. Still nothing. With a crescent ball of fear in his chest, Ian tries to pull normal gold coins from the vault. He moves his hand in the air like he’s grabbing something. When he opens it, there’s nothing in it.

“Fuck!”, he whispers. He feels lost, disconnected, the fear growing into a panic and threatening to choke him. This is bad, very, very bad. Without his coin, he can’t access the vault and his good luck is gone. If he doesn’t find it soon, he’ll be cut from the magic of his kind forever. And it’s fucking dangerous for a Leprechaun to lose his luck. The universe tries to balance their years of good luck by sending all sorts of misfortune their way. He only knows of one leprechaun that survived years without his coin and is still kicking: his alcoholic father, Frank Gallagher. But Frank is a freak of nature, even among the faerie folk. No one can explain how he’s still alive, he just is. He’s mostly human now, no magic, no access to the vault, no special good luck and yet he manages to overcome accidents, diseases, organ failures, beatings, kidnappings, etc, etc. Frank and the roaches would be all that’s left on Earth after a nuclear apocalypse, probably.

Ian shakes his head, willing the thoughts of Frank away. He reaches for the multi-colored soap bar that the family shares but thinks better: what if he drops it, steps on it, slips and cracks his skulls on the wall? No, better be safe. His coin is out there, waiting for him, he’s going to find it. But until then, best to avoid obvious risks. He grabs the bottle of lemon scented dish soap that Lip is using as body wash these days and drops a minimum amount in his hand. He washes himself quickly, feet well planted on the tub, not moving more than necessary. When he’s done, he can't resist shaking his towel to see if anything falls from the folds of it before drying himself. Nothing. He sighs as he gets dressed to work.

~+~

When he gets home, it’s already dark. Debbie and Kelly are laughing in the kitchen and Carl is on the couch, sulking. He hesitates for a second, remembering the discussion a few days ago. Carl is jealous of Debbie’s friendship with Kelly. He believes their sister is trying to seduce his girlfriend.

“Hey, bud.” he pushes Carl’s head playfully, like he uses to. “Wanna go for a jog?” He watches as Carl throws an angry and hurt look at the girls and nods. He gets up and mutters a “Wait for you outside.” before leaving. Ian sighs. Oh, teenage drama. He goes upstairs, changes clothes and goes back down through the kitchen stairs. He asks Debbie about Liam, who wasn’t in his room.

“He hasn’t been home all day. I called and texted him a lot, but he probably forgot to charge his phone. I’ll be home at night today, though, so he won’t be locked outside.”, she smiles, like that’s enough, like their nine-year-old brother gone all day wasn’t at least a little worrying. Ian sighs and nods. There is no point in arguing with her, anyway, so he just announces he’s going out on a jog with Carl and asks the girls to call him if they need anything.

Outside, he stretches with his brother and they start a light run. Halfway away from their block, he asks Carl what’s wrong.

“Debbie’s trying to turn Kelly into a lesbian like her! They text each other all the time, are always together, laughing and talking… And now, she decides I’m clingy! I just like to be with her, she used to like that… Fuck!”

“Carl, when was the last time you saw Debbie being friends with a girl her age that wasn’t one of those slutty girls from middle school?”

“I don’t know... Never, I guess.”

“Exactly. Debbie grew up with four brothers and only one sister that was too old and always too busy to be her friend and not her mom. The other girls she had in her life were always trying to get with the boys, she never really a real friend like she has Kelly now. This is good for her.”

“Yeah, but not for me!”

“The little I know about Kelly tells me she also didn’t have many girlfriends around growing up. Am I wrong?” Carl just shrugged. “This is new for both of them, it’ll wear off after a while.”

“Until then, I’ll have to watch my sister hitting on my girlfriend? No, thank you!”

“Carl, have you talked to Kelly about this? About how she never has time for you two to hang out anymore? Because talking to Debbie won’t help, she’ll only keep messing with you, she won’t back off Kelly.”

“I tried to. But she said I’m being clingy.”

“Well, you probably are if you text or call all the time, hoping she’ll ditch Debbie to be with you. Here’s what you can do: call her saying you’re sorry and that you miss her. Ask what she’ll be doing this weekend, invite her to do something, just the two of you. And then take her somewhere you used to go before you start getting jealous of your own sister.”

“But I still think Debbie likes Kelly. Like liking, you know?”

“If that’s truth and if she makes a move, it’s up to Kelly to cut her off, not you! You can ask Kelly if she likes girls as well as boys, but you can't forbid her to being friends with anyone.”

“What if she says ‘yes’? If she likes girls as well?”

“Then you ask yourself if you can handle. And if you can’t, you break up with her. But if you can and she decides she wants to be with you, just be with her. Kelly doesn’t seem to be the a cheater. Believe, I know the type…”

“What you mean?”

“I dated a guy who said he was gay, but every once in a while, he’d meet this girl that was his childhood friend or some shit. He said it wasn’t cheating because she was a woman and he was gay. He was obviously full of shit.”

“Fucking bastard… What did you do?”

“Dumped his ass, obviously. But I’m telling you this because I really don’t think Kelly would do the same with you, you know? Talk to her. She likes you, she’ll find the balance between your relationship and her friendship with Debbie. Okay?”

Carl nods, sighing. “Okay. I’ll call tomorrow after work. Best if I give her a little more time, she got really pissed at me.”

Ian chuckles and pushes his head again. His younger brother shoves him and they play fight for a while, until Ian grabs Carl in a chokehold and messes his hair with his other hand. He lets go and laughs at his brother’s disgruntled face while he tries to put his hair back in place. They start to walk back to the Gallagher’s and Ian pulls out his phone to call Liam. He doesn’t believe his youngest brother forgot to charge his phone, he’s most likely to be giving Debbie the cold shoulder for the whole ‘being locked out of the house’ thing. His theory is partially confirmed when Liam picks up.

“Ian?”

“Hey, buddy! Is everything okay? You’ve been out all day.”

“Yeah, I’m at Todd’s place. We’ve been watching movies and playing Call of Duty.”

Ian nods, relaxing. “You going to spend the night? I can pick you up, if you want.”

“Okay. I’ll text you the address.”

“See you soon, bud.” He finishes the call and waits for the text as they make their slow way back. The night is warm, comfortable. “I’m going to pick up Liam at his friend’s. Wanna come with? About two blocks from here.” Ian points in the direction and Carl shrugs and nods. “Race you!” He shoves Carl lightly and starts running, his brother startled yelp making him laugh.

~+~

The next morning, Ian almost jumps out of his bed due a loud noise downstairs. He gets up, looking around, sees that Carl is also getting up.

“‘The fuck is this?”

Ian opens the door slowly, peeking out. There’s no one in the corridor but Lip, Debbie and Liam are also opening their doors to check what is going on. Another loud noise sounded, followed by a loud groan and all of them relaxed at once.

“Frank.” They say in unison, rolling their eyes. Debbie throws a quick look into her room, checking on her daughter. “He better not wake up Franny!”

Lip looks at Ian and the redhead nods. They’re the stronger in the house anyway. Not that the Debbie and Carl couldn’t carry Frank’s ass out, but it was easier for Lip and Ian. And they’re the oldest, they feel like it’s on them anyway.

They get to the living room to find Frank dragging himself to the couch, face all bloody, nasty bruises starting to form in his arms and legs. The way he holds his breath shows that he probably has bruises on his torso as well. The front door is wide open and Ian grabs the baseball bat before checking if there’s anyone there. He sees two guys walking away, towards a car. Ian finds them familiar, but can’t quite place them. They’re probably from the neighborhood and judging by Frank’s state, not to be messed with.

He goes back inside, closing the door. He sees that all the locks are broken and sighs. Lip is already checking Frank’s pockets, slapping their father’s hands away.

“See if he has any money on him, we’ll need new locks.”

Lip makes a ‘tsk’ noise when he pulls out a bag of pills and some other drugs. “Money is gone already.”

“Maybe Carl can make some with these.” Ian says, grabbing the drugs and placing them in a plastic bag. He leaves it on the kitchen table and goes back to the living room because Frank is getting loud about some shit or another which means it’s time to throw him out. Lip is already grabbing him by the armpits. He tries to hold Frank's legs so he and Lip can carry him out, but the drunk’s incessant kicks made the task almost impossible.

“Stop it, Frank! You know you're not welcome here!”, he says, swiftly dodging his father's flailing feet.

“You stop it! Both of you, you're not listening!”

“You're not saying anything!”, shouts Lip, still trying to drag him out.

Frank stops struggling immediately. Lip drops him on the floor. He looks contemplative for a moment, then huffs out a laugh.

“Right, sorry about that. The shock of my discovery left me shaken.”

The younger Gallaghers roll their eyes. Lip just shrugs and goes to start the coffeemaker. Ian huffs and grabs the bread and peanut butter in the fridge.

Noticing that his sons are done paying attention to him, Frank gets up and motions to the kitchen as well. He waits until Lip is away enough to not swat at him and grabs a beer.

“What the fuck did you do now to earn that VIP treatment, Frank?”

“Listen, fruits of my loins, I was walking home this morning when I was hit with the sweetest scent on the universe…”, he makes a dramatic pause, waiting for his sons to show interest, but they just ignore him, as usual. “The scent of our rich gift! Irish gold!” He's getting excited now, hands moving to emphasize his point.

“And where did you sniff coins, Frank?”, asked Ian, seemingly disinterested, but his heart started beating faster.

“Coin, son. Singular. In that Ukrainian dump down Trumbull Avenue.”

Ian's heart was almost beating out of his chest. He grabs some slices of bread and put them on the toaster, quickly, so his brother wouldn't notice the slight shake of his hand. Lip glares as he always does when anyone around pays attention to the old drunk.

“Did you sniff a single coin inside a house, from the sidewalk?!”, asks Ian, mildly impressed.

The thing about Frank is that he's a freak. He had lost his coin many years ago, but the waves of bad luck he faced in life were never enough to finish him. By any standards, he wouldn't be considered a leprechaun anymore (spend years away from your magical coin and any connections to the faerie folk disappears) and yet, he's the only one they ever heard of that is capable of sniffing Irish gold like a hunting dog. Because of that particular skill, no one would consider Frank a human, but because he didn't have anymore magic, he's not a leprechaun either. Frank Gallagher is, as anyone who has ever met him would say, something else. Whatever you want that to mean.

“And what the fuck did you do? Decided to break into the Milkovich house to get it?”, asks Lip, still annoyed.

Frank shrugs. “The lure of our birth right is enough to cloud the mind of even the most determined man. When I realized what I was doing, those gangsters in training were already throwing me in the back of their car.”

By this time, the other Gallaghers start to arrive in the kitchen and Frank feels the need to tell the story from the start again: he was walking home from some bar or crack house or wherever the hell Frank spent his nights, when the scent hit him: the rich scent of Irish Gold. And that just from one coin. How Frank knew that, he wasn't sure, but he knew it was just one. Curiosity mixed with severe lack of judgment led him inside the house (“The door wasn't even locked, can you believe that?” “Yes, because no one would be stupid enough to just walk into the Milkovich house!”) but before he could find the source of the delicious scent, two Milkoviches grabbed him and dragged him out to get a beating.

The Gallaghers share a look. They know Frank isn't lying, if he sniffed leprechaun gold in the Milkovich house, it's because it's there. What brings another question: how the fuck did they get their hands on it?

“Okay, so, Milkoviches. Who are they, what do we know about them?”, asks Debbie, taking charge.

“I used to sell papers to two of them in school… Iggy and Mickey, I believe? Both dropped out after a stint in juvie.”, answers Lip, remembering the dirty looking teens, one with blonde hair and the other with black.

“I had a couple of classes with Mandy Milkovich, their sister.” adds Ian. “I think she started to have a crush on me after I tripped our gross History teacher.”

“Mr. Bancroft?” asks Lip and Ian nods. “He was a prick.”

“She gave up after a while though. We never got to be actual friends, but we sorta knew each other.”

“Okay, so this means they aren't hunters, right? They've always lived here, just like us and some of them were close enough to you two in school. If they were hunters, they'd made a move years ago…”, says Carl, his rational thinking surprising his siblings. “Hell, we lived here all of our lives and the first time they come knocking on our door is to drop Frank’s ass, who was trespassing in their house. Doesn't sound like hunter behavior to me.”

“What then? Slavers?”, suggests Debbie.

Lip shakes his head and makes a doubtful face. “Slavers would have a pile of gold at their feet in seconds. Frank says there was only one coin.”

They all contemplate the options in silence for a while. Not even Frank speaks, but that's because he's passed out drunk in the couch. There were always risks for magical creatures and most of them were presented by humans. The biggest threats were hunters (who, once upon upon a time, only attacked to protect those who couldn't protect themselves. They were the ones that demanded justice when humans were wronged by a magical creature. But nowadays, most of them were just a bunch of trigger happy psychopaths that could easily turn to kill other humans if they didn't know about the supernatural world) and slavers. As the name suggests, they usually kept magical creatures locked up for profit: they forced leprechauns into practically emptying the vaults, tortured mermaids for their tears, ripped wings from fairies and horns from unicorns. In many ways, they were worse than hunters.

“From what I've heard, their father, Terry, fits both of the profiles, hunter and slaver.”, says Carl. He knows of Terry because of his time as a dealer. The other gang members thought it was important to know the big fishes in the area and told Carl about him and other career criminals that lived nearby. It was a scarily long list.

“But if he was, he'd done something to all of us already. And they wouldn't let Frank go after he broke into their place.”, reasons Lip.

After another moment of silence, Ian speaks up. “So, we do nothing then? There's no immediate danger?”

“I guess we just keep on keeping our distance from them. I mean, we're not close to them by any means and if Frank hadn't tried to invade their house, we'd have stayed out of their radar, right? So let's just pretend this didn't happen.”

“And what if Frank decides to try to get the coin again? That certainly would attract their attention.”, asks Liam and all the other Gallaghers look at him. Their youngest sibling, usually overlooked in the constant whirlwind of people in the house, is really insightful for a child. He is scarily perceptive and smart, in a way that kind of reminds them of Lip, but is completely different at the same time. Ian smiles, proud.

“We’ll have to hope against hope that today's beating knocked some sense into him.”, says Lip.

‘If the coin isn't there, Frank won't have reason to go back sniffing…’, thinks Ian. It seems clear to him what he'll have to do next: he needs to find a way to get into the Milkovich house to check if the coin Frank found there is his lost one. He just has no idea how he's going to do that.


	3. Recon Mission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam does some surveillance and Ian really has no chill.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mickey's first appearance!!

After breakfast, Ian goes back to his room and sits on the bed. Thankfully it's his day off because he'd be useless and potentially dangerous if he went to work. All he can think right now is finding that coin. He needs a plan, though. He can't just knock on their door and ask if any of them found an ancient looking coin with a sun on one side and dots and swirls on the other. 

His impending freak out is interrupted by a soft knock and Ian looks up to see Liam shyly opening the door. He tries to calm down at least a little, not wanting Liam to know there's something wrong. He shouldn't even have bothered though because Liam sits in front of him on the bed and pulls his own coin out of thin air. Ian swallows.

“Is everything alright with you, Ian?” The redhead opens his mouth to placate his little brother but Liam adds: “And please don't lie to me.”

Ian deflates. He doesn't want to worry his family but he has a feeling that if he lies, Liam will know. And will get the truth out of him some other way. The fact that he brought his coin out for no reason tells Ian that he has a solid suspicion of what's going on. He decides to play the odds, though. Know what Liam is suspecting of. 

“Why do you think there's something wrong?” 

“I saw you trip. Few days ago, when you got home. And then the coffee maker didn't work with you but it did when I tried. And you seemed very interested in what Frank said, more than the others. And usually, you just ignore Frank altogether.”, he shrugs. 

Ian nods slowly. “Damn, you're good!” He smiles at his little brother and huffs out a laugh. “It seems like the Gallaghers produced another genius.” Liam fixes him with a look and he sighs. “I lost my coin.”

He sees his brother raising and then lowering his eyebrows, comprehending the situation quickly. “That's why you looked worried… You think it's your coin that Frank sniffed on that house.”

The redhead runs a hand through his hair and nods. “Now I need to think of a way to get in there to see if it's really mine.”

Liam seems thoughtful for a moment and then nods. “I'll help you.”

“No. I don't want you anywhere near that house!”

Liam puts his coin in his pocket and Ian knows it's back in the Vault. “It's okay. Todd's phone got a nice camera. We can keep surveillance from the other side of the street.” He gets out of the bed and is out the door before Ian’s brain catches up with his words.

He scrambles out of the room to stop his little brother but as soon as he opens the door, he sees Lip. The blonde man looks at Ian and frowns and then looks at Liam, who's at the top of the stairs. 

“Everything okay?” 

“Yeah, just needed to check if he wants me to pick him up later.”

Liam nods, a hint of smile on his face. He's become such a serious child that is a little unsettling seeing him smile for no apparent reason. Lip looks from one brother to the other, still frowning. 

“And where are you going to be, buddy?” 

“Todd's.”, both of the younger Gallaghers answer quickly and at the same time and it does nothing to appease Lip's suspicions. 

Ian gives his little brother a stern look and Liam just turns and goes down the stairs. Both men listen to the sound of the front door closing. The redhead nods at Lip and goes back to his room before his brother starts interrogating him. 

~×~

“What are we doing here?”, asks Todd, disguising his uneasiness by kicking a plastic cup away from the curb. He's way better at keeping it cool than his redhead brother, Liam notices. 

“Surveillance.”

“Why? Are you planning to break into their house?”

Liam discreetly snapped another picture when a dirt blonde guy left the house, walking with a black haired young woman wearing the uniform of the ‘squirrel diner’ (Liam doesn't remember the name). He saw them entering a car and leaving. 

“My brother Ian lost something important. And we have reasons to believe it's in there.”

“Did they steal from your brother? Because whatever it is, it's best to forget. It's not worth to pick a fight with the Milkoviches.”

“It wasn't stolen, it was lost. And my brother needs to get it back or something bad might happen to him.”

Todd makes a thoughtful sound, like he understands. Then he launches on a story about a distant cousin who received a present from a “boss” but ended up pawning it and when the boss found out, he got beaten up half to death. 

The circumstances are completely different, but Liam doesn't correct him. No sketchy boss would show up to take the coin back and give Ian a beat down for not having it, but his bad luck could be just as dangerous. 

They stay close enough to the Milkovich house for a another hour, snapping more pictures while pretending to play. Liam sends it all to his phone and erases them from Todd's. He thinks it was a productive morning: they learned that four people live in the house: three guys and a girl, all siblings according to Todd. His friend had also said that he learned through someone else that their father, Terry, was back in jail for breaking parole again. Todd always provides that kind of information with reluctance, like he's kind of ashamed of knowing about the comings and goings of the criminals in their neighborhood. It confused Liam when they started to hang out, but now he thinks he understands: Todd lives with his grandmother, goes to church every Sunday, helps with chores. Schoolwork is hard to him but Liam doesn't do it for him anymore, he helps him instead. And he noticed he's starting to understand things better. He's a good guy. He's got a persona in school that he needs to survive, but that's not who he really is and Liam is glad. When he first told Todd they could both benefit from a partnership, he only meant being safe from bullies in exchange of doing a little more homework. But he ended getting up a friend instead. It was nice. 

It's almost lunchtime, so they go back to Todd's house and his grandma serves them lunch. They spend the afternoon playing videogames and when it's 20 past five, he texts Ian, asking him to pick him up. It's early than he usually goes home but he has a plan. If his knowledge of how waiting shifts was correct, they should find Mandy in the diner. Maybe they could start the plan of getting Ian inside the Milkovich house already. 

After leaving Todd's, Liam looks at his brother for a moment and asks if he has any money. Ian frowns. 

“Why?” 

“I'm feeling like waffles for dinner.”

~×~

Ian spends the walk to the diner looking at the pictures Liam took. He smiles a little when he sees Mandy, noticing she didn't change much. He vaguely recognizes the guys: the black haired one he knows is Mickey. He was in the same year as Lip in school, or he'd be if not sent to juvie for shoplifting. He has a vague memory of Mickey stealing chips, dip and Gatorade from the Kash-and-Grab frequently and Kash doing absolutely nothing about it. The teenager in his memory always looked a little dirty, like he wasn't fond of washing his face, at least. But the man in the pictures looked very clean. And attractive. 

The others he knows from crossing paths in the neighborhood. They don't ring any bells, Ian can't remember their names, but they look like the ones that practically threw Frank through their door earlier. 

He gives Liam his phone back, frowning when he sees him deleting the pictures. Liam notices.

“I have them saved on on a secondary account's cloud if we need them. No point in carrying evidence in our pockets.”

“I never thought that I would say that to anyone in our family, but please don't become a criminal mastermind.”

“You think I could?”, his little brother asks, a playful smile on his lips.

“I'm worried about it, yeah.”, he jokes and they both laugh. “I mean, Lip doesn't have the motivation, I don't have the coolness, Debbie is too judgemental to be a criminal, Carl found his leadership skills in school, but he lacks the planning mind. But you, you got it all, buddy!”, he pulls him in a hug. “Try to make a good use of it, okay?”

Liam is still smiling as he puts his phone back in his pocket. He looks back at Ian from the corner of his eyes and sees his brother’s smile. It's nice. He looked stressed that morning and it makes Liam proud that he's helping his brother solve the big problem he's in.

When they walk into the diner, Ian immediately looks around, hoping to spot Mandy. He hears his little brother cleaning his throat and feels him pinching his back. He blinks and pushes his brother to walk in front of him to a booth, eyes fixed on the floor. He really doesn’t know how to keep it cool.

Another waitress takes their order but they see Mandy around. Ian's mind is racing, trying to find an inconspicuous way to talk to her but he comes up with nothing. Obviously, he can pretend he just recognized her and try to start a conversation that ultimately will land him an invitation to hang out in her house, but it sounds fake and obvious in his head. 

He eats the waffles without tasting much (he's so wrapped up in his thoughts he didn't pay attention in what he ordered) and drinks the coffee, eyes sliding back to Mandy every now and then. He hears Liam sighing and looks up to see him rolling his eyes. Okay, he has to be discreet, he can't just stare at Mandy and expect to not come out as a creep. 

They’re finishing their meal and Ian orders another serving to take home. In his mind, he counted almost six minutes without looking around, so he figures it might be safe to try to spot Mandy again, but his view is obstructed by a short, stocky man with black hair and blue eyes. Ian swallows. Mickey Milkovich is staring down at him, a slightly menacing expression in his face. In the back of his mind, images of a beaten up Frank flash, along with old memories of Mickey terrorizing Kash. But it's all in the very back. In the front, all he can think is that Mickey Milkovich is the most gorgeous man he's ever seen. 


	4. Changing Directions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "“I couldn't help but notice the way you were following my sister's every step. Care to tell me what is that about?”
> 
> He speaks in a low, polite voice, an intimidation technique Liam’s seen enough times in movies. But it doesn't work because Ian is still staring at the guy's eyes like he's witnessing a miracle. Grown-ups are so embarrassing sometimes…"

Liam watches, a little apprehensive, as the thug approaches their table. He wants to warn Ian, who is staring intensely at his almost finished plate so his eyes won't wander back to Mandy every five seconds, but before he can kick him or clean his throat, his brother decides it's been enough time since he last looked at the girl and raises his head. His eyes land on the dark haired male Milkovich and he freezes.

He's not really sure about what might be going on in his brother’s head but whatever it is, it's kinda fascinating to watch. It all plays on Ian's face, his eyes widening, his breath catching, a light blush covering his cheeks. His lips part a little, like he's going to say something, but nothing comes out. Liam is still nine, he doesn't understand things like “romance”, “attraction” or “infatuation”, they're just words to him. But Ian's face as he takes in Mickey Milkovich paints a very clear picture. And, okay, he has no experience about any of this at all, so he shouldn't judge, but his brother’s reaction only seems to prove that he absolutely has no chill.

He chances at look at the other guy, who doesn't seem much affected, except for a light blush on his cheeks that may or may not be related to the encounter. He leans a little closer and Ian makes a low noise, kind of like a gasp and Liam can't resist rolling his eyes. He's about to kick Ian to bring him back to Earth but is interrupted by the Milkovich guy.

“I couldn't help but notice the way you were following my sister's every step. Care to tell me what is that about?”

He speaks in a low, polite voice, an intimidation technique Liam’s seen enough times in movies. But it doesn't work because Ian is still staring at the guy's eyes like he's witnessing a miracle. Grown-ups are so embarrassing sometimes…

“I told you to just talk to her like a normal person instead of just sitting there, staring. Just ask her if she's the girl you went to school with, it's not that hard…”, he says, trying to get his brother out of the fire. The thug-looking Milkovich casually puts a hand on the table and they can see his tattooed knuckles. He opens his mouth to (probably) threaten his brother but Liam slurps the rest of his milkshake noisily, cutting him off. The sound, curiously, is also enough to bring his brother back from ‘Cute Boy Dimension’. 

Both men look at him, one annoyed and the other still a little shaken. He just shrugs. Ian wouldn't let Mickey do anything to him, anyway. The dark haired man doesn't give him much attention though. He quickly turns back to Ian, ready to grill him some more, but is interrupted again, by his own sister this time. Liam sees him making an exasperated face and hides a smile on his cup.

“Mickey, I told you a thousand times that you don't have to keep coming! If it's still about that creepy guy from the other day- Holy fuck! Ian Gallagher?!”

“You know this guy?”

“We were in the same year in school. He tripped our gross History teacher once.”

“Mr. Bancroft, the prick.”, said Ian. Mandy nods and smiles. 

“What the fuck happened to you? You disappeared right before senior year, people used to say you ran away with the mafia!”, she says, chuckling. 

Ian deflates a little. “Not ‘with’. ‘From’.” Liam sees Mandy's eyebrows rise up her forehead. Her brother seems grudgingly impressed. “I can tell you about it some other time?”

“Oh, I definitely want to hear that!”

After a few seconds, Mickey announces he's leaving. He awkwardly says goodbye to Ian, appearing not to be sure how to act around him anymore, now that he doesn't seem to be a threat to his sister. He waves at Liam and nods at Mandy, pulling some bills from his wallet and giving to her. She counts it before complaining about the tip. Mickey flips her and grumbles curses in his way out, making Liam laugh a little. 

He notices how his brother’s gaze follows the Milkovich man until he disappears from view and chances a glance at Mandy. She's got a look on her face that tells him she wouldn't believe for a second if they try to make it look like Ian was into her. He sighs internally. So much for the original plan. 

Ian announces he's going to the bathroom before they go home and Mandy asks Liam if he wants another milkshake, on her. He agrees because since when do Gallaghers turn down free food? Ian thanks her and promises not to take long and Liam nods. He smiles when he sees the tall glass being put in front of him but it dies down when Mandy takes the seat that Ian was occupying, right in front of him.

“Now that it's only the two of us, wanna tell me what you and your friend were doing in front of my house earlier?”

  
  
  
  


Liam takes a long slurp of his milkshake to buy himself some time. He can lie, he knows that, but it's risky since he's not very good at it. Also, she saw Todd so whatever he says has to be convincing enough to keep his friend out of trouble. He thinks of his options: telling the truth is out of question, obviously. But he can tell part of it. The whole point of his earlier surveillance and coming to the diner was to try to gain access to the Milkovich house. If he gain Mandy's sympathy, he can still grant that. 

“I was just looking out for my family.”, he says, with a shrug. 

“How so?” 

“Your brothers dragged Frank home this morning, all beaten up. I guess I was just trying to make sure that they wouldn't be showing up for the rest of us.” Then, with a sudden inspiration, he leans closer to Mandy and speaks, in a low voice. “I might have another reason now, though. Did you see the way my brother looked at your brother?”

Mandy's eyebrows shoot up and she looks surprised. But then she smiles. “What, you gonna play cupid for our brothers?”

“I might.” He shrugs again, and Mandy chuckles and shakes her head. “And you plan to ask Mickey if he wants to date your brother? Pass him a note that says ‘You like Ian? Circle 'YES’ or ‘NO’?’”

“Do you think that would work?”

Mandy laughs. “You're in way over your head, kid… You don't know if Mickey even likes guys!”

Yes, Liam doesn't know that. But he's perceptive enough to notice, by Mandy's tone, that Mickey  _ might _ like guys. And he's not stupid, he knows his brother had been chased by homophobes a number of times and that's why he imagines that  _ if _ Mickey likes boys, he wouldn't be advertising it. Hell, for what Carl had told them about Terry Milkovich, he was the worst threat to gay and black people in the neighborhood. At least he wouldn't be terrorizing anyone outside of prison for the foreseeable future. 

He looks at Mandy dead in the eye. “He blushed.”

“What?”

“When he talked to Ian earlier. I saw him blush.”

It's a long shot but it pays off when, after assessing him for a few seconds, she relaxes. “You're lucky you're cute, kid. And also lucky that your brother is just Mickey's type… But don't tell him I told you!”, she demands. 

Liam smiles and nods. “Are you gonna help me?” 

Her smiles morphs into something so similar to the Cheshire Cat's that Liam is surprised she doesn't sprout fur and stripes. “And what would I be doing?” 

“Just give my brother an in. Like, invite him to hang out at your place when your brother is there, things like that… He can take from there, I think.”

“You think?” 

“He had boyfriends before so he'll know what to do.”

The mischievous smile never falters and she offers Liam a hand to shake. “Okay, kid! You got yourself a cupid assistant.”

Liam shakes her hand, a rare large smile gracing his face. All in all, everything went well. He had to sidetrack his original plan a little, but now Ian has access to the Milkovich house. Let the search for his lucky coin begin. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow me on Tumblr to see me crying over these idiots: [***click***](http://gendrybaratheonn.tumblr.com)


	5. Gone, completely gone. Hopeless even.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ian gets lucky. And not in a leprechaun way.

To say that Ian is upset with Liam's idea of pretty much outing him to Mandy and throwing him into an attempted relationship with her brother is an understatement. He complains the entire way to the Gallagher's, chastising Liam every now and then. The fact that his younger brother just rolls his eyes only fuels his annoyance. 

“Why did you do that? You can just out people in this neighborhood, it's dangerous!” 

“Ian, I'm sorry but you know what else is dangerous? Bad luck!” and on cue, a raging dog that has been barking up a storm a couple of houses behind them break his leash and comes straight to Ian. In the last second, the owner manages to catch the broken piece of nylon and pulls the dog back, practically wrestling him back inside the house. The brothers can hear the owner yelling at someone, saying that the leash they bought is shit. 

Ian is again frozen in place, the motorcycle incident coming to mind. Liam puts a hand on his chest and rests against a fence. He lets out a huff of relief and looks at his older brother. Ian is looking pale and his eyes are wide. Liam can see a slight shake in his hands. Another minute goes by until they get themselves under control and Ian pulls his brother close. When he speaks, his voice is shaky. 

“Okay, you're right. I'm going to get the coin back, no matter what.” 

~×~

The following days go by with Ian tripping incessantly, his pens practically exploding on his bag or pockets and so much dog shit on his way that he feels like the dogs are doing on purpose. His only moments of reprieve are when he is with his family because their luck spread enough to cover him a bit. At work, the coin he gave Sue few months ago, even not being special like his lost one, carries enough power to protect them on the job (Ian was worried sick of a random bout of bad luck hitting when he was around Sue, but luckily she used the coin he gave her as a charm on her keychain, so she had it on her most of the time). 

Another place that makes him feel safe (or at least not anxious like he's about be ran over by a car) is the Milkovich house, of course. Ian can almost feel the power, the familiar aura of his coin everytime he sits on the shabby couch in the living room. He tries to reach out to whatever wisp of magic he still has to catch it but it doesn't work; he needs to physically hold it. He thinks it might be somewhere inside the room with the ‘KEEP THE FUCK OUT’ sign on the door, Mickey's room, according to Mandy. 

Speaking of her, their friendship has been developing fast. She's been teasing him mercilessly for his crush on her brother and it doesn't help that Ian keeps throwing anxious glances at Mickey's door. 

Mickey himself is another issue altogether. Ian does have a crush on him, can't help but follow him with his eyes when he comes home or emerges from his room, feeling hot under his clothes with the smirks the dark-haired guy gives him. His attraction to Mickey is plenty obvious and the whole situation only gets worse and more embarrassing when he's struck with bad luck when the guy is around. By now, Mickey probably thinks he's a bumbling idiot. He wants nothing more than to change Mickey’s opinion by pushing him against a wall and press their bodies together, kiss him, go down on him until he's on the brink of coming and then let him down slowly, only to build it up again. Mickey would probably want to punch him for it but Ian is sure it would be worth it. 

The redhead sighs as he waits for Mandy to come back from her cigarette run. Thoughts of Mickey seem to invade his mind when he less expects them to and without Mandy to distract him, all he can think of is walking into his room and having his way with him. By the smirks Mickey keeps throwing his way, Ian has the impression he wouldn't put up too much of a fight. 

He sits more comfortably in the couch and picks up the Playstation controller. He looks at the paused game on the TV screen but doesn't feel like playing. Mickey is doing something in his room, probably pushing furniture around by the sounds of it. He keeps grunting and cursing and Ian is having a hard time controlling his hard on. He hears a loud thump and Mickey lets out an equally loud “Fuck!” and Ian is walking to the room before he's aware of it. 

He knocks and slowly pushes the door open. He sees Mickey sitting on the bed, holding one foot. Looking around, Ian sees a dresser in the middle of the room, probably what Mickey was trying to push around. He looks at Mickey and freezes when he really sees him, flushed and slightly sweaty. Ian _ wants_. And it must be clear on his face because Mickey gives him a Look™️ and raises an eyebrow. 

He steps closer and Mickey does the same and suddenly there are clothes flying and Ian is pushing Mickey to the bed and Mickey is grabbing lube from under a pillow and Ian rescues a condom from his wallet and it's quick and hard and perfect. Mickey grunts and curses and squeezes around Ian and holy fuck!

When they finish, Mickey elbows him lightly on the side and Ian rolls off him. He knows the drill: a quick fuck is usually followed by a equally quick goodbye, but he doesn't want to go. He's staring at the ceiling, still trying to catch his breath, pressed to Mickey’s side and all he wants is to roll on top of Mickey and kiss him. And keep on kissing him, down his body, blow him until he's close and then fuck him again, slowly this time, and face to face. 

When he chances a glance at Mickey, he sees the man is still flushed and breathing hard and Ian's dick is valiantly trying to get hard again. He wants to say something but doesn't know what. He's a little conflicted because his primary reason to be in this house is to get his coin back but he's truly interested in Mickey and he likes being friends with Mandy. He focuses on the low thrum of energy his coin is giving off and tries to pinpoint where is it coming from. But then he feels Mickey shifting beside him and his concentration is shot to shit. 

The black haired guy doesn't say anything, just gives him that Look again with a smirk and raises an eyebrow and wow, Ian never imagined that a Pavlov response could develop so fast. His erection seems to be connected to Mickey’s smirks by now. And then he speaks and Ian is a goner, no hope at all to save himself. 

“You're ready to go again or you need some more time, Firecrotch?”

Mandy thankfully takes her sweet time to come back. Ian suspects she planned this. And adores her for it. 

~×~

When he leaves the Milkovich house, he's already daydreaming of being with Mickey again. He doesn't want to seem clingy, though, so he says nothing. He texts Mandy, letting her know he can't wait for her to get home but promising to come by the diner the next day, at the end of her shift, so they can do something together. She replies a few seconds later asking him if he found some way to keep himself entertained while she wasn't there and Ian is sure she had left him alone with Mickey in the house on purpose. 

While he walks home, nothing bad happens to him, surprisingly. He theorizes that it must be residual effect of being so close to his coin. But Mickey was moving furniture around and, if he was honest with himself, Ian didn't pay any attention to his surroundings after he and Mickey started kissing. He could feel the coin's energy, but couldn't locate exactly where it was coming from, if it was under the bed or inside the dresser or in the middle of Mickey’s messy bedclothes. Hell, they could have fucked on top of it for all he knew. He only hopes he would get another chance to investigate the room (preferably without Mickey there because Ian didn't trust his self-control that much and being in Mickey’s room with him… Nothing but orgasms would come of it. Not that orgasms were bad, but they're certainly not what he should be focusing on right now). 

He walks inside the Gallagher house and nods at his siblings, gathered in the living room, watching TV. Lip does a double take, smirks and shakes his head. Ian frowns lightly and Liam asks Lip what is it but his oldest brother just says that Ian got lucky and not in a Leprechaun way. Liam doesn't understand what he means, but Debbie, Carl and Kelly all turn to look at Ian, hollering and whistling while the redhead flips them all off and goes up the stairs, smiling and blushing. 

While he's showering, almost regretting washing Mickey’s scent from his skin, he can't help a slight chuckle. Yeah, it's not the kind of luck he needs, but he definitely got lucky tonight. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know if there's anyone reading this but in case there is, thank you.


	6. Slipping through his fingers like water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The tables turn.

**Chapter VI: Slipping through his fingers like water**

Ian can't help the stupid smile that keeps finding its way to his lips. He knows he's going too hard in this thing with Mickey, but he can't help it. He feels like walking on clouds everytime he's with the other man. When they kiss, it's better than any other man Ian has ever been with. And don't even get him started on how good it feels fucking him. 

But it's not just the physical part of it. Ian likes spending time with Mickey. He's sarcastic and crass and downright rude sometimes, but Ian finds it charming. And when they are alone, he gets to see a soft side of Mickey that he bets most people don't even know it exists. Mickey smiles softly at him sometimes when they're in bed and run his fingers through Ian's hair when he thinks Ian is still asleep. He worries about Ian when he gets too tired after a long day of work and chastises him for not taking better care of himself (which is endearing and also a tad hypocrite because Mickey doesn't seem to care for himself but he gets annoyed at Ian when the redhead does the same). He doesn't cook but there's always take out and beer (or pizza rolls and beer or anything microwavable and beer) when Ian spends the night. And he likes Ian enough to feel jealous because one time they ran into one of Ian's old flames and Mickey’s mood takes a turn south for the rest of the evening. It was only when Ian gave to him good and hard later that night that he finally relaxed. Ian loves to hold him close and breathe in his scent, burying his face in the back of Mickey’s neck. He likes how he smells and they usually share the same pillow because Ian likes to cuddle Mickey and sleeping close to him. He loves even more that Mickey indulges him. 

Life would be pretty much perfect for Ian if not for the occasional bout of bad luck. It happens everywhere now, doesn't matter if he's in the Milkovich house or with Sue or in his house with his siblings. Thankfully, with the constant chaos of the Gallaghers, no one seems to notice. Liam keeps asking about it but he can't really tell his nine-year-old brother that he gets so distracted by Mickey that he forgets to look for his coin. So far, he managed to escape the stupid accidents mostly unscathed (though a particularly scary one made Ian start to showering sitting on the bottom of the tub to avoid slipping and hitting his head. Again). 

Mickey seems to think that his 'clumsiness' is cute because he gets a fond expression on his face everytime Ian trips on air or slips on some garbage on the street. He chuckles sometimes but it's never malicious. The redhead sighs. He’s fallen so fast and so hard that he almost forgets that he's supposed to be looking for his coin. Imagine his shock when, while heating up some leftover lasagna, he sees a glimpse of gold on the corner of the kitchen floor. 

Mickey had texted him saying Mandy was going to cover a night shift so he kicked his brothers out to have the house just for them (okay, he hadn't phrased like this, but that was the gist of it, Ian was sure). Ian had gone straight to the Milkovich house on his way back from work and practically attacked Mickey's mouth with his own when the black-haired man opened the door for him. 

He doesn't notice he's moving until he's feeling the warmth of his coin back in his hand. The rush that comes with touching it almost makes him stumble. He feels the magic running up his arm like a physical touch, the low thrum of it under his skin, spreading pleasantly through his body. 

Mickey’s voice pulls him out of his reverie like a bucket of cold water. 

"Hey, did you find my coin? Iggy dropped it the other day and we couldn't find it! Thanks, man!" 

Ian looks back to see him smiling, dressed in a tank top and sweatpants, fresh out of the shower. On instinct, he closes his hand and feels the coin disappearing, magically being transported into the vault. When Mickey is in front of him, he grabs Ian's hand and frowns when he sees that's empty. 

"'the fuck?! How the fuck did you do that?" 

"Magic…", Ian answers, feeling sweat beading on his forehead. Nervousness is taking over and he prays to any deity that might be listening to help him keep his (barely existent) chill. He knows it's practically impossible for Mickey to guess that he did real magic, but he'll definitely know something's up if Ian starts acting weird. 

Mickey makes a 'tsc' sound and shakes his head a bit, but he has the same mix of fondness and exasperation on his face that he gets when Ian tells a lame joke, so not all is lost. Ian takes a deep breath to try to center himself. He raises a hand and places around Mickey’s neck, close to his ear. 

"Come on, man. I thought I had lost that…", the dark haired man starts but Ian runs the tip of his fingers through Mickey’s nape, making him stop with a slight shiver. 

"What's that behind your ear?", the taller man asks, still a little shaky, pulling a new coin from the vault. It's not his special one, but it looks like it. It's similar in size and in some of the details. He hopes Mickey doesn't notice the difference. But even if he does, he can't really accuse Ian of changing his gold coin for another because who the fuck walks around with pockets full of golden coins, ready to do party tricks? 

He pulls his hand from the other man's neck and shows him the coin. Mickey smiles but doesn't immediately take it, he just looks at it, not noticing the small differences between that and the previous one that was in his possession. 

"Where did you find this? Looted some pirate's treasure lately?", Ian asks, some of the nervousness leaving his body now that he has his coin back and Mickey doesn't suspect anything. 

"On the street. Was walking home and saw it, shining on sidewalk."

"Really? So a pirate or a dragon lost it on their way through the South Side?", he tries to joke, but only gets an eye roll in exchange. "Come on, it does look like something out of a movie!", he insists, closing his hand around, trying to infuse as much magic as he can in it. No other coin will carry the same amount of power that his special one does, but he can charge this one even more than the one he gave Sue and hope it's enough to protect Mickey from the universe trying to balance his days of fortune with a string of bad luck. 

When he opens his palm and places the coin on Mickey’s hand, he can feel it's warm from the magic he pushed into it, but since it was in his hand for a while, it doesn't seem like its temperature is something out of the ordinary. He sees the other man's soft smile while he takes it and puts in the pocket of his sweatpants. 

"I don't know where it came from, but finders keepers, right?", he says, chuckling, before pressing a quick kiss to Ian's jaw and grabbing plates to serve the lasagna. Ian sighs because yeah, 'finders keepers, losers weepers', but the one doing the weeping was him, so it's a little hard to sympathize. 

Mickey hands him a plate and the redhead grabs the beer from the fridge before they move to the couch. Ian is trying to just let it go, not show any special interest that might cause Mickey to get suspicious but he can't. He doesn't understand how his coin just moved from the vault to a random South Side sidewalk without him pulling it out. It's not impossible for a leprechaun to reach into another's vault, but it's considered a crime by the fairy folk, a severe violation, punished with banishment. There aren't other leprechauns around, but his siblings and he knows they didn't do it, so  _ how _ ? 

He doesn't even taste his dinner, eating automatically while his mind goes round and round, trying to make sense of it all. He sees, from the corner of his eyes, that Mickey is putting his empty plate on the coffee table and stretching his legs over it. He pulls the coin back and looks at it, seeming to take in the details. Ian finishes quickly and takes the dishes and the empty beer cans to the kitchen. He washes and dries them and tosses the cans on the garbage before going back to the couch and sitting close to Mickey, an arm over his shoulder. He's trying his best to forget about it but since Mickey literally brought the issue back, he decides to just go with it. 

"I'm starting to feel jealous of that… I mean, with the way you're looking at it." 

Mickey huffed a laugh. "It's my luck charm, man. Can you blame me? I spent days trying to find it. Don't want it out of my sight again." 

Ian feels uncomfortable. He knows whatever miracle his magic coin operated in Mickey’s life, this one, most likely won't repeat, it doesn't carry the same amount of power. But the alternatives are leave his own coin with Mickey and end up dying in a stupid accident or just don't give the other man anything and leave him unprotected against the eventual turn of the tide. This is the best of a short list of not-so-good/downright terrible options so he has to make it work. 

He tries to ask more about the actual finding of the coin but he can sense that Mickey is getting annoyed so he stops. Apparently there was nothing special about that particular day: Mickey was coming home from some shop he applied to (he told Ian he and his brothers all decided to stop messing with their father's businesses after his last sentencing; Mandy already worked at the diner) and saw something shiny on the sidewalk. He thought it was some quarter but as he came closer, it seemed too shiny. When he picked it up, he saw it was golden and looked like something out of a pirate movie (Ian gasped a 'So you agree that it looks like that!' and Mickey just rolled his eyes, but in an affectionate way). He brought it home and upon closer inspection, he found out it was gold. His brothers told him to pawn it (Iggy even tried to take it from him by force and failed) but he refused. He felt connected to it for some reason, he admitted almost shyly to Ian. Later that day, one of the places he applied to called back. Two days later, they got a new heater in a draw (Mandy had put all their names in and Mickey's got picked). The shop he started working on got a little popular after the owner's son created an Instagram account to advertise their services and they got a bigger influx of clients. Life was getting better and better for him and his family. And it had started after finding the coin. So, yeah, Mickey didn't like to admit, but he was feeling superstitious. 

Hearing the story, Ian couldn't help but feeling guilty. He knows giving Mickey a different coin is the best solution, but he also knows that things won't be so easy for him now. But it's not like he can tell him the truth and explain why his luck charm is not so lucky anymore either. Well, he  _ could _ but he would have to out his whole family as well and that is just… No. He's starting to realize why none of his siblings ever had a serious relationship: he isn't sure of what this thing with Mickey is but he already wants to share his biggest and most dangerous secret with him. But it's not only his secret so he talks himself out of it everytime he starts considering. 

Ian reaches for the coin and Mickey passes it to him easily. He pretends to examine it carefully while he infuses more magic into it. He can feel the metal heating up in his hand. "You should put it on your keychain. This way, you won't lose it again.", he says casually, rolling the coin between his knuckles. Mickey seems a little impressed by his skill and Ian preens (and he's sure the other man notices by his signature smirk. And also because Ian can't play it cool to save his life). 

He leaves the Milkovich house early the next day smiling as he remembers Mickey grumbling as Ian slowly disentangled himself from him. He's definitely not a morning person. But Ian has to work and since he went straight to Mickey’s the night before, he has no clean uniform to wear. He walks in silently and grabs clean clothes from the dryer. He starts the coffee maker (smiling widely as it starts immediately) and enters the small bathroom. He showered quickly before leaving so there's no need for it now. 

He changes and eats breakfast and goes to work. There's no dog shit or random pieces of garbage in his way. No pens explode in his pockets, his favorite sub is back on the menu after a whole month and at night, he even gets a text from Mickey asking him if he's feeling like going to Sizzler the next day. He almost vibrates out of his skin when he sees the message (they usually stay at the Milkovich house because the Gallagher's is always too full and too chaotic. They never went out like this so Ian is beside himself) . He's typing and deleting a reply, trying to not seem too eager, smiling like a teenager with a crush when Liam comes into his room. 

Ian raises his eyes from his phone, still smiling and even blushing. Liam rolls his eyes and sits heavily on the bed. His brother is beyond infatuated with the Milkovich guy and it shows. He watches as his brother type and read and delete and type again. He seems to finally compose the perfect text because he nods and touches the screen again before locking it and putting the phone down on the bed. Still smiling, he moves his hand in the air and Liam sees the gold coin shining in his palm. 

"You found it!" 

"More like it found me, to be honest… It was on the kitchen floor of Mickey’s house."

"How did it even get there?" 

"I have no idea, Mick said he found on the sidewalk."

Liam frowns. He doesn't know this Mickey Milkovich, he could be lying to Ian about finding the coin. But even if he is, how did he get his hands on the coin in the first place? 

"And he kicked it all the way to his house? Why was it on the floor?", he asks, irritated. These powers, these coins are an integral part of him and his family. He has the utmost respect for it. To imagine that his brother's coin was on the floor after being found on the street made him angry. 

"He said he found and took it home but it kind of disappeared? I think his brother was playing with it and rolled somewhere and they couldn't find it."

Liam's frown deepens and he asks Ian for more details. There isn't much: Mickey found it on the street, took it home and after a few days apparently, his brother lost it. It was still in the house, Ian knows that because Mickey recounted all the good things that happened to him while he had the coin. Liam starts thinking: the coin disappeared from Ian's vault without explanation (his brother swears he didn't take it out) and emerged on the sidewalk on Mickey Milkovich's way just to vanish again inside his house and show itself to Ian. Liam remembers something he read in some old, dusty book he found in the basement, a theory that special coins, the ones that embodied a leprechaun's power, could be sentient at times. It sounded very fairy-taleish for him to believe, but now… 

He looks back to Ian, wanting to talk to him about it but he's looking at his phone with a dopey face and Liam guess he's talking to Mickey again. He peers at the screen and sees a picture of them: it's a selfie, the dark haired man is slightly flushed and it seems to be fighting a smile and his brother is kissing him on the cheek. It's a cute picture, Liam can recognize that but he can't reconcile the Mickey in the picture (almost smiling, looking soft) with the one he saw in the diner two or three months ago trying to intimidate Ian, of all people (the irony of it all doesn't escape him). 

When Ian started to hang out with Mandy and started to date Mickey, Liam noticed it wasn't just to find his coin. He genuinely enjoys her company and it's obvious that he likes the former thug a lot. Because of that, the next question he wants to ask dies on his tongue. It's obvious that Ian wouldn't give up on Mickey now that his coin found its way back to him. 

Liam understands (theoretically) how having a relationship can be dangerous to their secret. It's the main reason his siblings use to justify their lack of a love life (though he suspects they're also just really bad at it; their parents could never be a good example of anything, specially of a positive romantic relationship, so they never really learned how it works). Fiona, Lip and even Ian were always dating, going out, meeting people but he never saw these dates going anywhere. Until now. Ian looks so happy when he talks to Mickey or about him. Just looking at a picture of him makes his brother look like a dork, with that smile and that expression that makes Liam think of a puppy dog. The only other person in his family with a relatively stable relationship is Carl. But he and Kelly got together in different circumstances than Ian and Mickey (that only met because of Leprechaun magic, in a roundabout way). And, Liam suspects, Carl doesn't seem to have the same moral hang-ups that Ian has. He could grow old with Kelly and never tell her anything. But he can't picture Ian doing the same. He's too earnest. 

"What are you going to do now?", he asks. His brother looks at him, confused. "I mean, are you going to tell him? About what we all are?" 

Ian doesn't answer immediately and his smile dies down. Liam almost regrets asking and cooling his happiness but this can affect all of them, it's his right to worry. When he answers, Ian almost sounds tired.

"I can't tell him. I know that."

And if he was any other nine-year-old child in the world, this would be the end of it, but Liam Fergus Beircheart Gallagher is nothing but perceptive. He glances at his brother's phone, the selfie of him and Mickey on the screen and just knows. 

"But you want to."

Ian looks up at him and there's something that looks like fear in his eyes. Liam frowns. Ian doesn't get scared. He's strong and resilient and went through a lot but always came out victorious. He was too little to remember when Ian, at seventeen, had to flee to Ireland to run from some mobsters that were after Frank and wanted to get his brother as collateral. He spent months there, hidden with their grandmother, Frank's mom. He knows this from hearing about, since he can't remember, but it sounds genius. Who could find an specific redhead called Gallagher in freaking Ireland? But when Ian came back, he was different. Like he had too much energy and couldn't stay still for long. He still gave him the best cuddles and would take him in his runs pushing his stroller through the cracked sidewalks, but there was something else that Liam couldn't understand. 

Years later, he read something in one of the old, dusty, forgotten books in the basement that made it all clear: the time in Ireland recharged Ian's magic in a way that almost surpassed the capacity of his body and mind to handle it. After weeks of being hyper, his brother crashed down hard, spending days in bed, without eating or even talking. Then came the hyperness again and again the crash. It took his magic a long while to balance, but now he's doing good. He's the brother Liam remembers: the one that gives the best hugs, that ruffles his hair and tells lame jokes. The one that seems invincible and now saves people for a living. 

Liam sees his brother sighing, resigned. “I wish I could tell him, yeah, but I won’t. I understand there’s too much at stake. He’ll probably freak out, anyway. I mean, things won’t be so good for him now that I got my coin back, even with the one I left behind to replace it. He doesn’t need the added stress.” 

The youngest Gallagher nods before sitting beside Ian and snuggling close to him. He wonders what kind of trouble Ian’s boyfriend will be facing, if they’ll be a sequence of little problems or something big at once or a little bit of both. He didn’t have the coin for a long time and, since he and his family still live in the same shabby house in a poor neighborhood of South Side Chicago, his life didn’t get this much better. It’s not like he won the lottery or anything like that. Fortune won’t be taking much from him to balance his life again. And he’s pretty sure that not even all the bad luck in the world would make Ian forget about him. 

Liam chances a glance at Ian's phone and see his brother and Mickey in another picture, the dark haired man again looking reluctant to smile and Ian with a huge grin. He's too young to understand this kind of love but it seems like a good thing, if Ian's mood nowadays serve as evidence. He hopes Mickey feels the same and is strong enough to endure whatever inconvenience Fortune throws his way. 

But the thing with luck is that it's unpredictable. And when the tables turn, no one can measure how much time it will take for things to balance out. It can take a long while, like with Ian, a long string of small inconveniences with big hits here and there (the motorcycle, the bathtub). But sometimes, it packs a hard punch and delivers it all at once. Unfortunately (and how appropriate this word is) for Mickey, it decided to hit where it hurt the most. The news reach them the next day: Terry Milkovich is being released from prison. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for disappearing. But good news is: the fic is compete and I'm posting all the remaining chapters now.


	7. Terry

Ian sees as Mandy puts on a brave face after frowning at something on her phone. She even tries to smile a bit, like she has to pretend things are okay. 

It's been 10 days since Terry Milkovich was released and this is the first time Ian and Mandy can finally sit in peace to talk. He knows she's staying with an aunt, sister of her deceased mother, and that she practically ran out of her house the moment she found out her father was getting out. 

The boys didn't have the same choice. One of their uncles had stopped by the house to tell them that he was going to pick their father and to them have the house ready for Terry (meaning booze, whores and drugs) when he arrived. Mickey didn't come home from work that day, preferring to pay a shitty room in a motel. From what Ian knew, he was avoiding his father as much as he could, working crazy hours and staying in random bars until closing time. 

They talk on the phone and text but there's an edge of desperation. Or at least Ian feels this way, like he's slowly losing Mickey because of Terry. The week apart feels more like a month for Ian, specially because when they talk, at night usually, Mickey sounds stressed and tired. He wants to say something to comfort him, hell, he wants to hold him, see him, make sure he's okay but Mickey shuts him down every time he brings up the possibility of them meeting. 

He understands how fucked up the situation is and tries to rein in his anxiety even though all he wants is make Terry go away. From Mickey, from Mandy, from their lives. He wants them to be free again but that won't happen until the fucker is back behind bars or worse. He's distracted from his grim thoughts by Mandy's voice. 

"Iggy told me he punched Colin yesterday… Because someone bought guns from someone else and not from him. He hates that the boys are trying to get out." 

"Shit… Is he okay? I mean, was it serious?" 

"Terry has punched him before. All of us. He'll live."

The bitterness in her voice makes him reach for her hand. She hesitates for a moment before holding his and squeezing. 

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault. And he's probably be back in jail soon, we've been through this enough times to know. Don't worry about it."

Ian wants to say that it's impossible not to worry and that, in a way, this mess is his fault. But he can't. So he holds tight on her friend's hand and listens as she tells him how they are holding on. He's not really friends with Colin and Iggy but since he spent a lot of time in the Milkovich house, they started to get along. And they never seemed to care that their brother was dating a guy. They never mistreated Ian even when Mickey wasn't around. He worries about them as well. 

They talk about other things, even though they haven't been apart that much. The mere presence of Terry makes it seem like there's a wall between his kids and the rest of the world. Or at least that's how Ian feels, almost disconnected from them. 

When they're saying their goodbyes, Mandy holds his hand for a while. "Look, I know this is hard for you. It's hard for Mickey too. Probably worse for him. He misses you. But Terry can't be messed with, Ian. He's dangerous. He can kill Mickey and you if he finds out about you two."

"I'm not going to be knocking on his door, Mandy. I want to, but I won't. I understand that he can't see me now. I just… I wish I could comfort him, somehow."

"I'm sure you do. He's been texting you, hasn't he?" 

"Yeah, most nights."

He doesn't say that Mickey’s texts are usually short and their conversations don't last long, like he's hiding, even when it's late at night (maybe he doesn't feel safe even in his own room?). He also doesn't say that he's left wanting, frustrated and powerless over their fucked up situation every night. And he's sure it's the same for Mickey. 

Another week and half passes and Ian is about to crawl out of his own skin. Having enough of not even seeing Mickey, he stops by the shop the other man works on to try and catch a glimpse of him. It's ridiculous and he feels like a teenager stalking their crush but when he sees Mickey, walking in from the 'employees only' area, wearing dark blue work overalls and with a small smudge of grease on his cheek, he forgets all about feeling self-conscious. He wants. He even takes half a step towards him but a receptionist interrupts him by asking if she can help. He's still looking at Mickey and almost runs to the other man when he looks at Ian and the redhead sees the longing and the want in his blue eyes. 

Mickey walks towards him and Ian's mind kind of produces an image of the dark haired man taking him in his arms and kissing Ian soundly, but, showing way more coolness than the Gallagher ever possessed, Mickey just asks him what he's doing. 

"Sorry. I just needed to see you.", he confesses in a low voice and Mickey deflates. 

"Ian…" 

"I know it's not safe but I had to. I needed to see you, Mickey!" 

Mickey's eyes are filled with sadness and longing. Ian imagines they're a mirror of his own. Then Mickey looks around and a older man nods discreetly at him. Ian frowns when he holds his hand and pulls him out of the shop, but before he can ask anything, he hears someone saying "10 minutes, Milkovich! You're still on the clock!" 

Mickey drags him to the alley behind the building and presses him against the wall. Ian meets him halfway, devouring him, the kiss desperate. He cradles the back of Mickey's head with one hand and the other, he wraps around his waist, pressing them even closer. 

They kiss for a long time (Ian suspects they've been at it for way more than ten minutes, but he might be mistaken; his ability to count the passing time just doesn't work when he's with Mickey) but it ends eventually. He wants to invite him over to the Gallagher's or to spend the night in some hotel room or anywhere, really. He's not above going to one of the abandoned buildings or the dugouts of the little league field or even under the bleachers of their old school. He wants to give Mickey nice things and take him to nice places but he'll settle for a quickie in a bathroom right now; that's how desperate to be with Mickey he is. 

He's taking a breath to ask Mickey to meet him later but the other man beats him to it.

"Terry is out of town on a run with my cousins. Wanna meet up later? We can go to the Alibi and then somewhere else?"

Ian's smile could split his face. It's exactly what he wanted. He kisses the other man and whispers "yes" against his lips over and over again. He can almost see Mickey rolling his eyes even though they both have them closed. They part ways with the sweet promise of seeing each other again later, huge smiles on their faces and a spring on their step. 

~×~

They're drinking beers and hanging out in the Alibi, laughing at Kev's silly comments and at the nonsense of the regulars. It feels so good to be out with Mickey, in a bar, seeing him relax and just have a good time. He's not a people's person but can easily carry a conversation about random topics and genuinely holds some random's attention when he starts talking about cars. 

The plan was for them to meet at the Alibi for a couple of beers before going to to eat something and then a hotel room that Ian had quickly reserved after meeting Mickey at the auto shop. Ian was hoping to convince him to skip dinner and order room service instead but the conversation is flowing and he's distracted talking with V about nursing school (he's been toying with the idea of becoming a nurse more and more lately) so they're not that much in a hurry. 

Their peace is disturbed by the arrival of Terry Milkovich and his group of mean looking friends and brothers. He's laughing at something one of them said and loudly asks for a beer. Ian doesn't have time to react before one guy in Terry's entourage quickly grabs his and passes to the man. The redhead glances at Mickey, who is practically frozen, hunching against the counter, trying not to catch his father's attention. It's all for nothing because the minute Terry finishes downing Ian's beer, he looks around the bar, spots Mickey and drags him off his stool by grabbing his neck and pulling him close. Ian almost pulls him back but he hears V cleaning her throat and when he looks back at her, she's got a pointed look that clearly says ‘don't do anything stupid’. 

The regulars don't notice the change in the atmosphere, they just continue drinking, but Kev and V know Ian since he was a kid, they can see in the way he looks at Mickey, worried, controlling himself to not walk between him and Terry that Ian really cares about the Milkovich boy. And it's clear by the quick look he throws Ian that Mickey wished he could sit back at the bar, next to the redhead. 

Ian tries to calm himself but every time he hears Terry's loud voice, he feels his anger rising. It's even worse when he sees Mickey's fake smiles. He gets up and goes to the bathroom to splash some water on his face. His night with Mickey is shot to shit now, he's sure. Maybe Mickey can sneak out of the bar and they can still enjoy the rest of the night, but as he comes back, he hears the word "fag" and a lot of laughter coming from where Terry is and his mood sours completely. 

As he downs some whiskey Kev serves him, he hears V making a noise of sympathy and decides to call it a night. As he's putting on his jacket, his eyes meet Mickey’s. Ian wants to pull him away from his father, back to the happy bubble they had before Terry got out of prison. How long they have now? Mickey’s father will always be a threat. There's no way they can be together without confronting him. And even if they're not together, there's no way for Mickey to be free and able to make his own choices while his father is around. 

Mickey approaches him when he's making his way to the door. 

"Hey, meet you at your place later?" 

"Will you be able to?", he asks in a bitter tone, throwing a glance at Terry. 

Mickey sighs and looks away before facing him again. "Ian-" 

"Is this how things are gonna be now that he's out? Us hiding?" 

He sees Mickey throwing another glance around, probably to make sure that Terry is still occupied on the other side of the bar, playing pool and laughing at anything racist or homophobic that's being said. It angers Ian that that piece of shit is free to spew all his hate like it's nothing. He knows he doesn't have the power to wish for anything, that's not how luck works for him, but if he had, he would ask Fortune to make Terry drop dead right this moment.

He looks back at Mickey, not really expecting him to do anything. He's been literally beaten into submission by Terry his whole life. It's not the kind of control you can shake off like it's nothing. He looks down and touches Mickey's hand subtly, just a brush of fingers, before meeting his eyes again. He wonders if his luck would be enough to protect both of them from Terry's wrath if he dared kiss Mickey right then and there. Something must have shown on his face because Mickey steps back from him, like he's afraid Ian will get too close. 

"It's not me you have to be afraid of, Mick." He wishes he could have said it with a softer tone, but he can't. He's bitter, angry, frustrated. He throws one last look at Terry, full of venom, then turns back to Mickey. "Don't come over. Just text me later? If you can, I mean."

But before he can open the door to leave, he feels a hand in his arm, stilling him. He turns back and Mickey is biting his lip, like he's considering something. He doesn't say anything but he doesn't let go of Ian's arm nor he meets his eyes. Ian tries to pull it back but Mickey holds tighter. He frowns. They're not doing anything to attract much attention but if Terry sees them, he will definitely ask what's going on. 

It's only a couple of seconds but when Mickey looks at Ian again, he's got a look on his face that Ian can only interpret as trouble. He lets go of the redhead's arm but Ian doesn't move, curious and afraid of whatever is going on Mickey’s mind right now. He sees the other man walking to the middle of the bar, slapping a tabletop hard a couple of times and calling for the patrons' attention. Ian can't believe his own ears when he hears Mickey saying loudly that he wants everyone to know that he's "fucking gay". 

The whole bar goes silent, all the conversation dying in the wake of Mickey's revelation. If Ian could look at anything other than the young Milkovich, he'd see V's and Kevin's shocked expressions, the man even with a hand covering his mouth. But he's still processing what happened when the silence is broken by Terry's roar, as he charges at Mickey, knocks him down and starts punching his face. Ian reacts by throwing his coat on the floor and advancing on Terry, pushing him from Mickey, who looks almost unconscious. All the anger, fear and resentment bubble up in him and he lets it all out on the criminal's face. He's certain he would end up punching Terry into a pulp if someone hadn't break a chair on his back. 

He falls on his side, nearly collapsing on top of Terry, but whoever hit him pushes him away and he hits the floor instead. The same man helps Terry up and Ian almost lunges at them when they walk by Mickey, who's supporting himself up using a table and shove him. But he's frozen in place by a sharp pain on his side. He probably has cracked ribs because even breathing feels excruciating. 

The fight escalated to a point that now it looks like it doesn't have much to do with Mickey and Terry anymore. Everyone is fighting everyone and many men have smiles on their faces even as they get punched. 

Ian manages to get on his feet and look around to find Mickey. He's pushing someone who might or might not be one of his uncles away from him, but Terry has murder in his eyes as he moves towards his son again and Ian doesn't even feel the pain as he runs to put himself between them. At the same time, a police siren sounds loud outside and in a second, a couple of officers enter the bar. 

Ian doesn't really understand how Fortune works. Usually, he's impervious to accidents and other general bad things. And yet here he is, broken ribs and a bleeding face trying to reach Mickey before Terry's fist does. He manages, closing his eyes and bracing himself for the pain that ultimately doesn't come. Through the cacophony of loud voices, glass breaking and chairs scraping the floor, he hears Terry's voice in a almost too low surprised gasp. He sees the man's eyes widen in an almost comical way and his arms flail trying to keep him balanced but it's in vain. He falls back hard, his head hits the corner of a table and there's an ugly, crunchy sound. He falls on the sticky floor of the Alibi Room and doesn't move anymore. It's a weird moment because the bar is not really silent (the cops are ordering people around and some drunks are refusing to comply) but Ian hears it as if it's coming from far away. All his senses are focused on Terry, lying on the floor, still as a corpse. For some reason, he starts to think about his EMT training and starts listing in his head all the procedures for head trauma. He sees a cop approaching and assessing the man and calling dispatch for an ambulance. He makes a face Ian's seen cops making many times in scenes. It means that it's even worse than it looks. 

But he hears Mickey's shaky "Holy shit" behind him and his brain registers that Mickey's safe. He sags a little, knees getting weak and feels the brunet's hands holding his hips, supporting him. He lets out a breath and leans against Mickey, feeling the other man's arm going around his waist, his own hand moving to hold Mickey's in place. Something touches his foot lightly and when Ian looks down, he sees a bottle, rolling slowly and stopping right next to him. 

"Of all the ways I imagine Terry Milkovich was going to go down, slipping on a fucking bottle in a bar fight definitely didn't make top 10…", says Tommy to no one in particular. 

"He's still alive though.", answers the same cop that called the ambulance, but the way he says it leaves them with the impression that Terry might not stay alive for long. 

Ian feels like the world is moving around him in high speed. He hears Mickey’s voice talking to him and nods, even though he can't remember what was said. A cop approaches them and asks what happened and his own voice sounds like it belongs to someone else as he says that Terry started a brawl and that they all got sucked into it. Bar fights aren't uncommon in the South Side, and most of them happen for no reason, so he doesn't mention Terry attacked Mickey after he came out. He's not sure if Mickey said anything though. His mind is miles away, the image of Terry's fall playing on a loop in his brain. 

The cop asks something but he misses it. Whatever it was, though, makes Mickey make an indignant sound and then he, Kev and V are all talking at the same time. Veronica comes with her phone and shows something to the cop. Tommy and Kermit and another cop all confirm whatever it was and the cop just raises his hands in a surrender gesture but Ian doesn't understand why. 

Mickey is looking at him again but he feels like his brain is turned off. The words don't make sense and then Veronica is on his face and she's talking and he hears a chair scraping and large hands are pushing him to sit down (in the back of his brain, he knows it's Kevin). 

The EMTs come and Terry is put on a gurney. Ian knows them. They're rushing him back to the ambulance, their faces serious. He recognizes that expression, made it himself quite a few times. Things are really bad. 

He's slowly coming back to himself and squeezes Mickey's hands, that never let his since he was pushed into the chair. 

"Hey. You're hurt? You need to go to the hospital?" 

Mickey's voice is so soft and his eyes are so concerned that Ian feels like crying. He's overwhelmed with all the noise of people walking up and down the bar, cops barking orders to the rowder patrons, V's and Kevin's voices asking him if he's okay so he holds Mickey's hands and focus on his face to anchor himself. He feels the guilt that has been thrumming under his skin as a low vibration since Terry's fall practically roaring when he feels Mickey's palms cradling his face softly. He pulls Mickey closer and buries his face in his neck, breathing in his scent, tainted by the smell of blood that is covering both of them. 

Mickey is trying to comfort him, one hand caressing his scalp, but when Ian finally finds his voice, he can't stop himself. He whispers his biggest fear against Mickey's ear:

"I think I just killed your father."


	8. Aftermath

Ian watches as Mickey sleeps peacefully. His face is relaxed and one of his hands lay on Ian's chest. Usually when they share a bed, they lay on their sides, spooning, with Ian as the big spoon. But tonight they needed to see each other's faces before falling asleep. Well, Mickey managed to sleep. Ian couldn't calm his mind enough. 

He killed Terry. He's 99% sure of it. The only thing holding him from fully believing is the fact that they don't know how he is, if he is in fact dead. But if he is or if he passes from the trauma, Ian knows he'll be the responsible one. 

Mickey shifts a little but doesn't wake up. Ian runs a hand over his back and the other man snuggles closer. A fresh wave of guilt descends upon him. He knows Mickey doesn't have any lingering affection for Terry but the man was still his father. And Ian had killed him. 

He gave up sleeping at some point and just laid there, holding Mickey. When morning came and the sounds of the other Milkoviches were heard in the room, Ian had come to a decision. He's going to tell Mickey the truth about himself. His family is probably going to hate him for it but he feels like he owes Mickey. He knows the other man wouldn't believe without proof but that wasn't a problem. He has access to the vault now, he can take all the coins he needs to prove that he's a Leprechaun. He can show him his special coin and explain he had lost it and everything that happened after. And then, finally, he can explain why Terry's fall and potential death is his fault. 

Loud cursing coming from somewhere in the house wakes Mickey up. He grumbles and shifts and finally open his eyes. Ian doesn't even try to stop the smile that stretch his lips. 

"Good morning, sunshine."

"Fuck off.", the other man answers before lifting a hand to rub his eyes. He turns his head and faces the door, closing his eyes and sighing as the noises of Iggy and Colin around the house invade the bedroom. Ian couldn't resist sitting on the bed and hugging Mickey from behind, one large arm crossing the other man's chest. He hooks his chin on the brunet's shoulder and smiles when he felt Mickey's head leaning against his. He presses a kiss on his neck and pulls back slightly.

"We should go tell them."

It takes Mickey a few seconds but he eventually nods. It's not something they're looking forward to, but they can't leave the others in the dark. 

  
  


  
  


"You came out to Terry in the Alibi? In front of  _ everyone _ ?! What, you thought having witnesses was going to help?"

That's how Colin reacts to the news. Well, the first part of them. 

"Well, he's still alive, so…", says Iggy, chuckling and reaching across the table to poke at Mickey’s split lip. The younger man pushes his hand away curses at him, what only makes Iggy laugh harder. 

Ian takes a deep breath, ready to tell them what happened next when Colin interrupts him, his tone way more serious than Iggy's. 

"The cops showed up? Took him back to the can?" 

"Not to the can", Mickey answers after a pause. Ian's heart is going a mile a minute. "He slipped on a bottle, fell and hit his head. Didn't look good." 

The silence in the Milkovich kitchen is so intense that Ian feels like he has been transported to somewhere else. The house was never this quiet. 

"We should go to the hospital later to know what happened."

Ian just nods. He gets up slowly due the sharp pain in his torso and takes his and Mickey's plates to the sink. When he turns back, the other Milkoviches aren't around anymore and Mickey is frowning at him. 

"You should go get those checked. Can't run around saving lives with busted ribs." 

Ian can't help but smile. Mickey’s worry about his well-being always feels so good. With the way they're a naturally chaotic family and their protection against bad odds, his siblings kinda busy themselves with their own lives. Ian feels bad about it but he misses how close they used to be and sometimes he feels invisible in his own house. He wonders if anyone but Liam ever noticed the trouble he went through. 

But with Mickey he knows he's in front and center of the other man's attention. It still feels weird to be noticed like this, but always so damn good. He can only hope he's reciprocating in kind. 

He kisses Mickey because he can, they both can now. Terry is not around and the other Milkoviches never minded. He kisses Mickey, thankful for the way he cares, the way he notices Ian. Then he keeps kissing him as an apology for taking the coin back and when he pulls back, he knows it feels almost like a goodbye. He can't know for sure now how Mickey will react to the truth but he's afraid the other man will reject him. 

Mickey gives him a look, raised eyebrows and everything but Ian can't explain anything right now. First they have to find out how's Terry and call Mandy, who's still at her aunt's. Not to mention his own ribs. But since Mickey noticed something is wrong, he can't just brush the subject off. 

"We'll talk about it later, okay?" 

Mickey is still frowning but he nods and drops it for the moment. 

  
  


The doctors tell them that Terry is in a coma and the prognosis isn't good. They dump a lot of medical terms on them that flies straight over their heads and Ian is the only one who can understand some of it. They don't say "He's gonna die" but the implication is there, crystal clear. 

They dismiss the doctor's condolences because none of Terry's kids really love him in anyway and they're relieved they probably won't have to deal with him anymore. Mandy, after being told the news, just asks Mickey to let her know when it happens so she can come back home.

Ian's ribs have small fractures, expected from the bar fight, and a doctor prescribes some light pain meds and gives him medical leave for a few days. It could have been worse, the doctor says. Ian just looks away, nods tersely and leaves.

Hours later, back in the Milkovich house, someone from the hospital calls Mickey to tell him that Terry didn't make it. Ian watches as he paces in front of the couch, answering whoever is on the other side of the call in a clipped tone. He hears as Mickey says that, yes, they have plans for the burial and that the family is gonna reclaim the body the next day. Ian frowns. He didn't expect that though it makes sense. Even if he was a monster, Terry was still their father. Their family wouldn't let him rot away in a ditch somewhere.

After hanging up, Mickey calls someone else and, by the sounds of it, it might be one of his uncles or cousins. Ian tunes him out, feeling like he shouldn't be privy of the details, especially since he's the one who caused Terry's death. The guilt in him feels almost unbearable but in the whirlwind of Terry's death and preparations for his cremation (the only thing Ian captured from Mickey's talk with his uncle) he can't find a good moment to tell him the truth. But with the way Mickey looks at him when they say goodbye that night, Ian is sure he's suspecting that something is going on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic was supposed to have 8 chapters but as I wrote, I realized that 8 wouldn't be enough. 😅


	9. The Truth

After Terry's cremation, the Milkovich boys completely empty the house of anything that is remotely related to their father. One of their uncles show up with a van and they load all the heavy guns and drugs, along with some furniture and his clothes. What Ronnie refuses to take away, they burn in the backyard. 

Five days passed. Not even a whole week between the bar fight and now, but to Ian, it feels like a lifetime. He hasn't been sleeping well, plagued with guilt-ridden nightmares and his medical leave ended the day before, so on top of the guilt, he's also tired.

After they finish throwing Terry's shit away, Mickey pulls Ian to the bathroom and starts the shower, before pulling off his shirt and undoing his pants. He reaches for Mickey's shirt but the shorter man just pushes him under the water spray before shedding his own clothes and joining the redhead.

After two rounds (one in the shower and other in the bed), they're lying side by side, catching their breath. Ian can't stop thinking that this could have been their last time. He tries to shut his brain but now that the fog of pleasure dissipated, the guilt rears its ugly head again. 

"What the fuck is going on with you?", Mickey asks in a low, almost hesitant and defeated voice, like he's not sure if he should be asking anything. Or not sure if he's gonna like the answer.

"There's something I need to tell you and I'm afraid you're going to hate me when you know."

Mickey looks at him with a frown and Ian sighs. He puts on some clothes and sits on the bed, facing the other man. 

"Remember what I told you in the Alibi? When they took your father?" 

"What? That bullshit about killing my father?" Mickey rolls his eyes. "Ian, you didn't touch him. That cop tried to pin this on you, but V had the images of the security cameras on her phone! You threw yourself between him and me but you didn't push him! I was right behind you, I'd see it!"

Ian looks at him, confused. "Wait, what cop?"

"You don't remember? You were kind of out of it, in shock, V said. But this cop came in and started to imply that you could have pushed him and even those drunk fucks defended you. And Kevin has new security cameras, they can see the images on their phones. You didn't push him, Ian." 

"I know."

"Then what the fuck is this about?"

"I couldn't just let him hit you again but I knew something like this could happen! When I jumped in front of you, I knew Terry wasn't going to hit me. I knew something would stop him, I didn't expect it would be a fall like that, but I knew there was a chance!"

Mickey is starting to look like he's thinking Ian is losing his mind so he decides to just rip the band-aid off. 'Not that hearing the truth will convince him that I'm not completely crazy', he thinks before taking a breath.

"Try to keep your mind open, okay?"

"Jesus Christ, Ian!"

"You know that coin you found on the street? The one you said it was your lucky charm?"

"Yeah, it's on my keychain. Why? What does it has to do with this shit?" 

"No. That's not the coin you found. The one you have now looks like that one, but it's not as powerful." He makes that movement with a hand, like he's grabbing something invisible in the air and when he shows Mickey his palm, his Coin is there. 

Mickey blinks and leans back a little as he stares at Ian's hand. Then he looks at his arms, bared due the tank top the redhead is wearing and at the other hand, that didn't move from the bed. Ian knows he's trying to make sense of what he saw, trying to understand the trick. But there isn't one and Ian knows it might be too much to ask, but all he can do is keep going and finish telling Mickey the truth.

"This is the coin you had, it was in the kitchen floor, remember? You said Iggy was playing with it and it rolled away?"

"Yeah… but how did you…?" 

Ian closes his eyes for a second, gathering courage. "Mickey, please don't think I'm crazy but I'm not human. Well, I'm completely human-passing and my anatomy is the same, but…" He looks at the brunet who's looking from his face to his hand and back and takes a deep breath. There's no way of saying what he has to and not sound insane, but he wants to be honest with Mickey, so he keeps going. "I'm a Leprechaun." 

He sees a million expressions passing Mickey's face, his eyebrows going so far up his forehead that Ian is afraid they're gonna disappear in his hair. He waits, so tense he can feel the grit of his teeth. He can't even imagine how else Mickey will react, apart from his flying eyebrows. In the end, his shoulders just sag and he runs a hand over his face.

"What the fuck, Ian?"

"I wouldn't believe either if I was in your place but as crazy as it sounds, I'm telling you the truth!" 

Mickey's eyebrows are trying to climb even higher and he's looking at Ian without blinking, his head shaking just a little. He's about to explode and Ian knows. 

"Look!" He starts to pull coins from the Vault and drops handfuls of them on Mickey's lap. "It's not a trick!" 

Mickey reaches slowly and touches the pile of gold in his lap. Then he takes both of Ian's hands in his and turns them over, his movements very deliberate, like he doesn't want to startle Ian but also needs to check to make sure he's not hiding the coins on the back of his hand or anything like that (not that it would be possible to hide that amount of coins even with Ian's big ass hands, but he's nothing but thorough). 

And while Mickey is holding them, Ian closes his hands again and opens them right under Mickey's gaze, showing him the gold that wasn't anywhere near a fraction of second earlier. 

"Holy fuck! This- What- How did you?" His eyes are huge. 

"Magic." Ian answers lamely. "Real, actual magic. It's one of our powers, we have unlimited access to a virtually infinite source of gold." He pointedly looks at the coins in his hands and waits for Mickey to process. He seems to understand that this is not a trick and hasn't push him away yet.

"Then why the fuck y'all live crammed in that dump?" The brunet asks, examining one of the coins. Ian frowns, but doesn't comment. Mickey's not really wrong anyway, their house is a dump.

"We have to keep a low profile. There are people who like to kill or enslave our kind."

"What the fuck?! Is there someone after you?" 

Ian smiles a little at the protectiveness. "It's not a specific person. But there are hunters after, well, magical people. They used to just defend humans that were harmed or somehow wronged by a magical creature but then they started to get a little too trigger happy over the years. Kill first and ask questions later. And there's also slavers who kidnap us for profit. Take our gold, rip off fairy wings and mermaid fins to sell, stuff like that. They're dangerous even with our magic. They know how to hurt us, kill us. It's better to just keep our heads down." He looks away for a moment. It's always hard to acknowledge there's danger always lurking and that he and his family are targets. When he looks back at Mickey, he sees a weird expression on his face, like he's divided between giving into his protective instinct and comfort and reassure Ian and actually letting himself believe in Ian. The redhead smiles a little, warmed by Mickey's attention and affection. Even if it sounds impossible and crazy and out of reality, Mickey still wants to protect Ian. 

After a long moment, Mickey speaks again. "And what part of this has anything to do with Terry? Why did you say you killed him?"

"Because when I moved between you two, I knew my luck would prevent him from hitting me somehow. I knew this could happen and I did anyway. I might as well had pushed him against that table."

"Your luck?" Mickey's eyebrows climbed up his forehead again. "And how does that work? You're always tripping on nothing and bumping into the walls." 

"Not for a while, though!" Ian points out. "Right? Since I found the coin in the kitchen."

Ian can almost see the cogs turning in Mickey's head. They spent some time apart because of Terry but now that he's thinking about it, he realizes that Ian has been quite steady on his feet lately. 

"It's because of it." Ian says, nodding at the coin that is still in Mickey's hand. "It's the source of my power. When a leprechaun is born, a special coin like this materializes into existence. When we die, it disappears. We're lucky while we have it, it's how I noticed something was wrong: I tripped on the front porch."

"That's it? That's your bad luck?" Mickey scoffed. 

"I've never tripped before. Ever. And then there was the coffee maker that wouldn't start and then a guy in a motorcycle almost hit me while I was out running." 

Mickey looks at him, serious again, but keeps silent. Ian goes on.

"I tried to get my Coin in the vault and couldn't. That's when I was sure I had lost it."

Mickey nodded. "And how did you know it was with me?" 

"Your brothers came dragging Frank home because he broke in. Frank lost his special coin years ago but he somehow is able to survive everything Fate throws at him: beatings, ODs, liver failure, etc etc. He's a freak of nature even between us. And he's capable of smelling coins, like a hunting dog. That's why he tried to get here, he sniffed it from the sidewalk."

"What the fuck?! How?" 

"We don't know. It's just something he can do that no one else can. He started to ramble about it and since I had lost mine, I thought that maybe it could be it. Liam noticed that something was wrong and connected the dots. He found out where Mandy worked and helped me approach her on the diner. It was the day we met officially." The smile on his face in impossibly fond. 

"Wait." Mickey swallowed and took a deep breath. "Did you start to come here because of… it?"

Ian looks down. "When I went to the diner for the first time, I was trying to figure out a way to gain access to your house. But I really became friends with Mandy. And you… Fuck, Mickey. I love you." He finishes with a small voice. It might not be the best time for him to say it but if his time with Mickey is coming to an end, he has the right to, even if it's just once. 

Mickey just stares at him in silence for a long moment. Then he lets out a breathy laugh and shakes his head. 

"You don't have to say anything! About anything!" Ian rushes to say, not at all ready to face a rejection. He finishes getting dressed but Mickey grabs his arm before he can leave the room. 

"Stop." He says before leaning in and kissing Ian slowly. "I love you too." 

Ian is sure he's smiling like a dork but he can't help. Mickey loves him! Maybe he doesn't really believe he's a Leprechaun or maybe he does but doesn't care, he loves Ian! 

He's still smiling and it only gets bigger when he feels Mickey's hand touching his jaw and sliding up slowly into his hair while his other is busy pulling him closer by his belt loops. But before they can kiss, the door opens abruptly and it hits Ian hard on the back of his head.

"Aw, fuck!" 

A second later, Iggy's face pops in. He sees Ian's pained face and notices he's rubbing his head. "Shit, man! Did it hit you?" He laughs at little when Ian nods. "Sorry, we're moving stuff out here and it pushed the door open." He doesn't sound sorry at all; if anything, he's finding it extremely funny. Just like in every other time Ian tripped or slipped or bumped into someone or something. Or that time he burned the pancakes. Or when the coffee he made manage to taste like it had been done in an old, dirty sock for unexplainable reasons. 

Ian just makes a face and a dismissive gesture. Mickey walks to the door and pushes the dresser Iggy and Colin have been dragging away. "Be careful, assholes!" He slams the door closed but they can hear the two Milkoviches outside snikering. Ian rolls his eyes and presses tenderly on his head again. 

"So, you do have to have this on you at all times, huh?" Mickey says, holding up Ian's coin. He has a small smile on his face. 

"Usually it works if I'm in the same room… But I guess I'll have to always keep it on my vault now." He smiles as Mickey puts the coin in his hand and he lets it fall in the pocket dimension. Mickey’s eyebrows are raised high again. 

"This is so weird, man."

"Yeah. But you think you can handle? The weirdness? Do you want to?" 

"Ian, I don't really understand what just happened or what you told me. I mean, magic? Gold? Magical gold? It sounds crazy!" 

"I know. But I needed to tell you. Not just because of what I did to Terry but because I trust you and if you want to be with me, I wanted you to know what you're getting into."

"Okay, stop with the Terry bullshit, okay? You think anyone in this house is sad that that piece of shit is gone? You think we'd hate you if you had shot him in the fucking face? We wouldn't. I wouldn't! So let go of the guilt, man. Your luck did the world a favor."

Ian gulps. He wonders if the situation was reversed, he would be this accepting of Frank's death and is not surprised to realize he would. He doesn't want Mickey to do it but mostly because he wants Mickey safe and away from trouble. If anyone else offs Frank, he'd probably thank them. 

"And, fuck Ian. It's still you. I mean, unless you get pointy ears and start sprouting clovers on things you touch…" He says, with a small smile. 

"No, that's the Fae. I don't have the power to grow plants."

"Oh, so they are a thing too?" 

"Yeah. And they're dangerous. If you ever meet one, don't tell them your name, don't promise them anything and don't ask for any favors."

"Are you fucking with me?" He asks, sounding tired. 

"Sorry, but no. Fae exist as well. And they're nothing like Tinkerbell or whatever other fairy Disney is trying to sell these days, they're mischievous and manipulative and they always play to win."

"Something in common with Milkoviches, I guess." He says with a shrug. And Ian's heart feels like it's going to burst, so full of love it is for this man. It's impossible to not kiss Mickey right then. He kisses him over and over, pecking his lips and laughing because Mickey is not saying he's crazy and pushing him away, he's not calling him a liar or a murderer. He's kissing back and pulling Ian towards the bed. 

They fall on it, legs intertwined and breaking the kisses to let out little laughs and love confessions. Ian never felt like this, so in love. 

"You really don't mind?" He can't help asking, pushing the pile of coins on the bed away. 

"Ian, this is weird. But what else is there? Do you turn into some creature at the full moon? Do you drink blood to survive? Do you dance naked and perform fucking rituals?" 

Ian laughs out loud. He kisses Mickey again before answering. "Okay, I'm not a werewolf, a vampire or a witch. And, yes, all these exist. I am mostly human. We're really the most boring of the bunch." 

Mickey hums and slides his hands up from Ian's jaw and cheek to his ear. "I don't know, I think I'd like a pointy ear." He says with a straight face that lasts for 5 seconds, until Ian rolls his eyes and shoves him lightly. 

"I can put on fake ones for Halloween." He eventually says because Mickey is taking this well and he also has that glint in his eyes that tells Ian that he is seriously imagining it. "Not those big, obviously fake ones. I can try to find silicone ears, like those in movies, they look natural." 

"Hmm. Are you going to wear a green suit and a top hat as well?" 

"Do you want me too?" He starts to kiss down his neck. "Is this a fantasy you want to explore, Mickey? Leprechaun kink?" 

"Fuck off." Mickey pushes him, but they're both laughing. 

"Are you really okay with this?" he asks as they sober up, his voice small and a little insecure. Mickey never gave him reasons to doubt his care and devotion before but he literally just dumped world-changing news on him. He has the right to jump out. 

"It'll probably take a while for me to fully accept that there's real magic in the world but I'm not… afraid of you, Ian. I don't fear you're going to eat me at some point or turn me into a gold statue. So if you say the most exciting thing you do is to conjure up a fortune in gold and avoid being hit by a car, well, I guess I can deal with it."

"Really?" He sounds breathless and his heart is beating so fast he almost feels like he's going to pass out. "So you're not going to break up with me?" 

"No, Ian." Mickey looks impossibly fond as he pulls Ian to a sweet kiss. "I like your over eager ass too much for that. It's crazy but what can I do?" He shrugs like it's nothing, like he's not giving Ian the best news of his life. The redhead kisses him deeply and pulls his shirt off. Mickey quickly opens and unzips both his and Ian's pants. 

"You being devoured is a real possibility, though because you are delicious…" He says, sucking and licking down his neck and reaching his chest. 

Mickey laughs. "Man, shut the fuck up," he says as he pulls Ian back up for another kiss. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I first started writing this and until very recently, I intended to make this scene between them very angsty but as I was finally writing (earlier today!) I realized that I didn't want to put unnecessary drama here, there's enough of it in the show. Maybe Mickey accepted it too quickly and easily but it is what it is. I just want to be done with this story.


	10. The Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's New Year's Eve, it's exactly 23:45 now, I'm dying to go to sleep!   
This is unbeated but I usually read over and try to correct any errors but right now, this is impossible. I can barely keep my eyes open to type this note. Let me know if you spot some bizarre error.

Ian groans as he turns around and the sunlight attacks him. He buries his face in the pillow and reaches for Mickey but finds the bed empty. He moans this time, distressed that his boyfriend is not lying by his side so he can hide his face in Mickey’s neck from the evil sun until he feels ready to face the world. His head is pounding and Ian feels like any sudden movement will trigger his stomach. 

"There's a bottle of water and aspirin on the night stand." 

He slowly opens his eyes and sees Mickey, leaning against the railing of the balcony. The sun is shining behind him, so Ian can't properly see his face but he knows he's got that fond expression on. He makes grabs hands at him until Mickey joins him in bed. 

"Why are you up so early?" He asks, burying his face in Mickey’s torso to smell him and hide from the sun. 

"It's almost lunch time." He reaches for the water and hands it to Ian, whose face is still pressed against him. "Come on, man. I thought your luck was supposed to protect you?" He speaks in a low voice to not add to the pounding of Ian's head but he's laughing a little. 

"Against bad odds, not bad decisions." He groans and finally sits on the bed and takes him a full minute to control his nausea and not make a mess. Mickey is still laughing as he handles him the water and the pills. 

"No more tequila for you."

"Mickey shots though. Couldn't resist."

It's their first vacation together. They're in a nice hotel in Mexico and their room has the most amazing view of the ocean. It's been a year and half since Ian told him he's a Leprechaun and he's surprised with how little things changed between them. Maybe because his own parents were disastrous together and he never had an example of a positive romantic relationship, he fully expected Mickey to abandon him at some point, for one reason or another. And, he learned, it was the same for Mickey. They both feared the other would eventually bolt and it took a lot of stilted conversations while high or lightly drunk for them to start to understand and accept that they were it for each other. 

They're in a much better place now. It's not perfect at all, but it works. Mickey is a chronically messy person and Ian is a neat freak. Ian uses whatever is available to wash himself but Mickey is very particular about his body wash and hair products. Ian likes to eat healthily most of the days and wakes up early to run while Mickey is all steaks, burgers and microwave meals and is basically dead to the world until his alarm sounds. 

But they make it work despite their differences. They learned to walk away when they're not ready to talk, to give the other space when they need and to always come back when they're calm. And they talk. Mickey was never into holding conversations but he tries for Ian. He understands Ian needs to hear the words sometimes, even if Mickey is more comfortable with non-verbal communication. And Ian learned to hold back, to stop pushing and to let Mickey accept things on his own time. 

The first time Ian proposed was a spur of the moment thing. They were giddy and high and it sounded like the best idea. Mickey was a little reluctant but he went with it. Only at the courthouse, when they were signing the marriage license, Ian realized that this wasn't the way he wanted to marry Mickey. He loved him but they deserved more. And Mickey thought that too if his hesitation when Ian brought the marriage up was any indication. 

They had a fight over it but Ian apologized and Mickey eventually forgave him. Ian apologized for pushing Mickey and for rushing into things and promised he would wait until they could do something they both agreed on. Ian proposed again, almost a month after the courthouse, with especial rings made from some of his coins. He made sure to infuse as much magic as he could in Mickey's one before giving it to him. They both agreed with a long engagement, wanting to find and move to their own place before worrying about wedding expenses.

On Mickey's next birthday, however, Ian couldn't resist treating him a little. He had money saved and yeah, they were looking into apartments so they could move in together and then finally tie the knot, but Mickey deserved. So he did all the extra shifts he could get away with just to make sure the dent on his savings wouldn't be too big and bought a trip for two to Mexico. Mickey wanted to see the ocean and Ian could take him, so he did. It could have been a perfect honeymoon, but Ian Gallagher wasn't famous for being chill, quite the opposite.

Mickey's face is so impossibly fond that Ian can't resist stealing a kiss. They don't take things further though and Mickey pulls him up.

"Go take a shower so we can eat something." 

"Are you going to shower with me?" 

Mickey tongues the corner of his mouth. "Maybe if you're good."

Ian pulls him close and whispers against his lips. "Tell me how to be good and I'll show you…"

"Fuck, Ian." 

They waste no time in ridding each other of their clothes and getting under the shower.

Hours later, they're back in the room. They spent hours on the beach and then went shopping for knick knacks to gift their siblings with. Ian is packing the presents to make sure they don't let anything behind . He looks around, holding a bottle of tequila, ready to make some remark (he had had a bad hangover but only because he had done many body shots on Mickey when they came up to their room and honestly? Worthy) but can't find him. He looks through the curtains that lead to the balcony and there he is, staring at the sunset and the sea. He's wearing a colorful Hawaiian shirt that Ian finds a bit ridiculous but Mickey finds it sexy. Ian always find him sexy, no matter what he's wearing and specially when he's wearing not at all, so he's not going to dispute that claim. 

He hugs him from behind and kisses his neck. He loves Mickey so much. His fiancé turns his hand so they can intertwine their fingers. Ian feels their rings clinking softly against each other. 

"Look at this, man. It's amazing." 

He knows Mickey is talking about the sunset. And it is beautiful, the most gorgeous sight he ever saw. But he has Mickey in his arms and can't look away from his face. 

"Yeah, it is." He says, kissing his cheek. Mickey shakes his head lightly and chuckles, leaning against Ian's frame. 

"Sap." But he turns his head and kisses Ian, slowly. They look at each other and smile before Mickey turns to watch the sunset over the ocean again. 

"Fuck, look at this, man. I never thought I'd get to see something like this." He sounds breathless and Ian squeezes his hand, their rings pressing together. Mickey brings them to his lips and kisses Ian's hand, right on his ring finger and smiles as Ian hugs him across his chest with his other arm. They kiss again and look back at the sunset. "How did we manage to get here? With all the shit we've been through in life, how did we get here?" 

Ian knows what he means. So much could have happened to them before their meeting, before they fell in love. So much could have gone wrong after. Relieved that they're here and together, he presses a kiss on Mickey’s cheek before answering. "How did we get here? With a little bit of luck." 

The End. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Liam's notes on a dusty, old book he found in the basement: 
> 
> "According to the author, Special Coins can act like a magnet between soul-intendeds. It was more common in the Old World and oral tradition recounts stories of couples finding each other through their coins. I theorize that Ian's time in Ireland not only charged him with excessive amounts of magic (that later caused his episodes) but specifically with Old Magic. And, exactly as the old tales reveal, his own magic moved the Coin to Mickey’s way. If Mickey could work magic (in the old days, a match between a human and someone from the fairy folk was unheard of), he'd be able to track Ian down and if he was a Leprechaun, his own Coin would move itself to Ian, completing the exchange and making it easier for them to meet. Being a human, Mickey couldn't feel the magic, therefore couldn't trace it back to its source. Ian didn't know any of this, so he tried to get the coin back but, as expected, he found his intended, his soul mate and everything worked out in the end. My initial assessment was that the coin became sentiment somehow, but that doesn't seem to be the case. I wonder if I can do more research on this topic. Maybe I can travel to Ireland in a few years to learn more about my family and my kind in general? I'll have to draw plans for that."
> 
> \----
> 
> This line is the cheesiest way I could possibly use to end this fic but would you believe me if I told you that it was my intention to end it like this since March, when I started writing this fic? Hope you liked and thank you for reading!


End file.
